Episode 097: What is High Functioning Anxiety?
Today I am looking at the term High Functioning Anxiety. What is it? Why I think it is important to differentiate from anxiety and how to know, you might be dealing with it.
Transcript:
In our podcast this week, I talk about my own personal story with it and how I came to notice the signs of high functioning anxiety in myself. I also talk about what high functioning anxiety is and I came to love working with people who also struggle with this very same issue.
Even as an anxiety coach, I find myself struggling with the voice in my head who tells me what I’m supposed to be doing and lets me know when I appear to be doing it wrong, or what I like to call a “Monger”. I felt that same voice getting louder when it came to podcasting. Having these kinds of feelings is a classic sign of high functioning anxiety.
I’m guessing that you can probably relate to how I’ve been feeling about podcasting I discussed in this week’s episode:
“I have a very loud Monger who tells me that the rule is I’m supposed to do a podcast every week on the same day and prerecord them and get them out to you and be rigid about it. And that is just not how this podcast thing works for me right now.
And so I appreciated the wiggle room that some people gave me to say just show up. I don’t care how often. So that was so sweet, and it was a great reminder to me how our Mongers can insist that we do something and keep us rigid without us even knowing it.”
If you’ve ever felt like anything other than perfection was unacceptable and that you must follow how you’re “supposed to” do something to the exact letter and feel a weight of anxiety, you may have high functioning anxiety.
So What Even Is High Functioning Anxiety?
If you’re familiar with anxiety, you may have a general understanding of how it works and what people with generalized anxiety disorder may be experiencing. But high functioning anxiety may be a new term that you’re not as familiar with—and high functioning anxiety is not the same as general anxiety.
The truth is that high anxiety is not considered a separate diagnosis of general anxiety, but the way people with high functioning anxiety may experience different signs and symptoms is what makes it different. I believe high functioning anxiety deserves its own separate category because how you cope with it is very different.
One of the biggest indicators that you may have high functioning anxiety? You know what it’s like to seem calm, cool, and collected on the outside but are internally battling with the constant storm of self doubt, stress, and anxiety.
What Is It Like to Have High Functioning Anxiety?
Personally, my experiences with high anxiety symptoms always seemed to be different than everyone else's. I always knew I struggled with anxiety but I never related to people who suffered from panic attacks and constant worry.
“I don’t have a lot of fears or phobias. I don’t have obsessive-compulsive. I just had this low running anxiety all the time. And so I would put myself as a type A personality more so than anxiety, a control freak and uptight and that sort of phraseology that I would use.”
Can you relate to those feelings of what it’s like to have high functioning anxiety? It took me a while to really understand that I didn’t have many of the same symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder many others had.
It wasn’t until I read Sarah Wilson’s book First, We Make the Beast Beautiful, that I began to wrap my mind around what I was experiencing and the world I was living in inside my mind. I related to the way that she described anxiety and it helped me realize that I have high functioning anxiety.
“It was very different from anything I had read before about anxiety because she wasn’t coming at it from a mental health, generalized anxiety disorder perspective. She was coming at it from this is what I deal with my anxiety. And so it was just a refreshing, an everyday look at how anxiety played out for her.”
It wasn’t until then that I realized anxiety played a much bigger role in my life than I had ever realized. I was able to finally start recognizing and labeling things in my life as signs of high functioning anxiety. From there I was finally able to do more than just cope with anxiety, I was able to face it.
In my work as an anxiety coach, I’ve found that the first step to overcoming high functioning anxiety is to understand that it’s not the same as regular ol’ anxiety and realizing that anxiety has a big impact, despite that you’re not experiencing classic symptoms of generalized anxiety.
What Does High Functioning Anxiety Feel Like?
One important thing that I’ve learned is that people with high functioning anxiety are high functioning; they may not always appear to be timid and worrisome like those with general anxiety. In fact, on the surface, those with high functioning may seem calm and collected. It’s what’s going on on the inside that is different.
“They have high-level jobs; they get a lot done. They’re very able to multitask and be on top of things. These are the people that you count on to really go out and go forth and do it.
But the thing that is happening is underneath all of those high functioning skills is a white-knuckling approach — a toughing it out, holding on for dear life. But you look one thing, and you’re feeling another. And that is a big part of what high functioning anxiety does.”
When I started to notice the reoccurring signs and symptoms of high functioning anxiety in myself, it helped me come to realizations about what it feels like to have this kind of anxiety.
It’s commonly overlooked and I had even been to an anxiety specialist for years! Getting therapy for anxiety always made a difference in my life but I was always too busy trying to cope with my anxiety rather than face it head on.
On the surface, those dealing with high functioning anxiety may seem like very Type A people. They may be seen as the control freak, the overachiever, the busy bee. One common way people will describe themselves who have high functioning anxiety is they’re an “anxious overachiever.”
“And so that’s what happens with high functioning anxiety. You have coping skills to keep you from feeling your anxiety. And so it’s a double edge sword in that the coping skills can become over the top. And then when you remove the coping skills, you have all this anxiety, and you don’t know what to do with it.”
Dealing With High Functioning Anxiety
If you’re reading this, you’ve probably been like me, coping with anxiety throughout the course of your life. When you finally realize what’s been going on you may be wondering how to get rid of your anxiety.
Often, people confuse high functioning anxiety with an acute amount of stress. That leads them to believe that they don’t need to be seeking help or taking action and that once the stress goes away, things will be better.
“And then the last assumption that I want to talk about is the idea that I don’t need to get help because it’s not that bad. This is just “life stress.”
And I hear that all the time in my office. I’m just a little stressed. I’m just a little overwhelmed. It’s more than that, people.
I’m here to tell you if any of this is resonating with you, it’s more than just life stress. Not everyone in the world feels like this.”
I believe if you’re struggling with mental health, anxiety, or high functioning anxiety, you should consider consulting a mental health coach, anxiety coach, or other mental health professional.
If you’re wanting to dive deeper into the understanding of high functioning anxiety, listen to the full podcast. I have an in-depth conversation surrounding anxiety and coming to terms with your own thought process.
Helpful Resources:
My book: The Happier Approach
Learn more about working with me through on-demand anxiety coaching!
Book I recommend: First We Make The Beast Beautiful: A New Journey Through Anxiety by Sara Wilson