A lot of individuals around us struggle with anxiety daily, though it is not always noticeable. Some learn to balance their anxiety with performance and do not let it show on their faces. This is commonly discussed as high-functioning anxiety, which is great for writing stories but not good for real life, unfortunately. They appear to be good on the outside while they are so much full of anxiety, stress, and self-doubt on the inside.
In this particular blog post, we will discuss what high-functioning anxiety looks like, how you can tell if you have it, and what you can do about it.
It is possible to remain unaware of the state of your mental health if you are living with high-functioning anxiety hence the need to be able to identify these signs. Of course, knowing all these signs can help take the right measures to deal with the problem before it escalates and causes more stress or even better burnout.
What Is High-Functioning Anxiety?
High-functioning anxiety is an anxiety disorder that entails a person going through anxiety, yet they post acclaim of handling life challenges. These individuals can work, function socially with family and friends, and continue to produce, but there is always that pressure due to the anxiety that comes with it.
It can also be difficult to tell the signs of high-functioning anxiety because he or she is not necessarily failing at daily tasks. But again it is important to understand that it is not always manifest as physical anxiety but can put a lot of pressure on the mind. The utterance of these signs can make people and their families realize when to go for assistance.
Main Indications of High-Functioning Anxiety
One needs to be aware of signs of high-functioning anxiety because they can be easily overlooked and even mistaken for strengths. These signs include mental, emotional, and behavioral clues that can be used to measure the anxiety that one person is experiencing as he or she fights the illness.
Below are some of the most common signs of high-functioning anxiety:
- Constant worry: Each person has a constant flow of thoughts in their head, and worry occupies a significant place even if there is nothing to worry about.
- Overthinking: High-functioning anxiety makes people doubt their decisions and analyze conditions and circumstances over and over again.
- Perfectionism: People with high-functioning anxiety have very high standards they set for themselves, which can be very unfavorable.
- Restlessness: On the individual level, people may experience anxiety, and they cannot easily let go or unwind.
- Fear of failure: This creates a significant fear of making mistakes, which in turn influences their behavior and makes them work harder.
- Insomnia: People who are unable to switch the channel off when these thoughts storm the head run into problems falling asleep.
- Over commitment: Recently, high-functioning anxiety was identified as a personality type that cannot refuse any task and tends to over-commit.
While the above signs may not be considered severe or typical signs of anxiety, they cause exhaustion, damaging effects, and mental fatigue in the long run.
Physical Signs Of High-Functioning Anxiety
Besides the above-mentioned mental and emotional indicators of high-functioning anxiety, there are some physical manifestations that one is likely to exhibit. Sometimes, all these physical indications are signs of stress that the body is trying to convey a message.
Some of the physical signs of high-functioning anxiety include:
- Muscle tension: One of the most common issues that individuals may have is muscle tension, which mostly affects the neck and shoulders.
- Headaches: Headaches are frequent since anxiety is a consistent source of strain on the body.
- Fatigue: However, while people with high-functioning anxiety appear to be highly efficient, they can easily become physically and mentally drained.
- Rapid heartbeat: This is because, during moments of high anxiety, the heart rate of an individual is affected leading to a rapid heartbeat.
- Shortness of breath: Another physical sign is when one feels that he is suffocating and cannot breathe adequately.
Being aware of these physical signals of high-functioning anxiety may assist individuals in comprehending the link between the physique and the mind. Listening to such signals can help reduce the likelihood of severe physical and mental health problems in the future.
Behavioral Patterns Associated with High-Functioning Anxiety
Individuals with signs of high-functioning anxiety exhibit certain behaviors that others may not even pick as signs of anxiety or may just attribute to hardworking or well-organized behavior, which may, in effect, manifest behaviors reflecting anxiety that interfere with a person’s ability to effectively let off steam or enjoy life.
Some common behavioral signs of high-functioning anxiety include:
- Over-preparing: They can spend many hours and even days preparing for a single task, presentation, or event among other things.
- Punctuality: Frequently, using the time like placing oneself overly early or being punctual means the presence of anxiety about being late.
- Difficulty relaxing: People can have problems with staying idle or performing tasks that are not related to work; they, always feel that they have to do something.
- Seeking reassurance: Forcing themselves to get constant affirmation from others, even if, they have achieved their tasks very well.
- Avoidance: They could stay away from any events, persons, or situations that in one way or the other, provoke the onset of the anxiety.
These behavioral signs of Librium can result in creating a cycle which is stress and exhaustion. In the long run, this sort of pattern has an impact on their psychological and psychological overall health.
Influence of High-Functioning Anxiety on Life
High-functioning anxiety is exhausting because an individual can live with visible indicators of anxiety while continuing to perform optimally. Nevertheless, the constant stress of overthinking, worrying, and striving for perfection may lead to mental exhaustion in them.
High-functioning anxiety individuals always feel that they are never enough no matter the accomplishments they make. This feeling can lead to a cycle of self-doubt and fear, thus leading to even more anxiety in the long run. The inability to treat these signs may lead to burnout, relationship problems, and even severe anxiety disorders.
Steps in the Treatment of High-Functioning Anxiety
If the signs of high-functioning anxiety are evident in the individual or the patient, preventive measures should be taken to prevent the escalation of the condition. If these signs are overlooked, worse mental health issues may ensue; however, there is hope for managing anxiety and maintaining good mental health.
Here are some ways to start managing signs of high-functioning anxiety:
- Therapy: Before attending a therapy session, clients are given a chance to explain how their anxiety feels and how they are managing it.
- Setting boundaries: It is very important to know when to refuse and avoid setting too many commitments for oneself.
- Self-care: It is advisable to ensure that you take good care of your mental and body health by performing functions that can relax you such as reading or practicing yoga.
- Stress management: Engage in conscious breathing, meditation, or other activities that could help in reducing anxiety.
- Journaling: One should write down their thoughts and feelings because it helps to think through the issue that may have caused stress.
Measures should be taken to manage these signs of high-functioning anxiety may improve the quality of life and avoid other mental health problems.
Conclusion
It is important to be informed about the symptoms associated with high-functioning anxiety if you are to seek help. Despite this, the occupants, especially those deemed to be functioning well due to high-functioning anxiety, are, in fact, suffering. Identifying these signs in oneself and others can contribute to recognizing and avoiding burnout as well as the development of mental health problems in the future.
At Avisa, we embrace the mandate of providing support to clients concerning dealing with High-Functioning Anxiety. If you or your loved one has these symptoms, it is never too late to get help. Do not wait any longer and get in touch with our teams to embark on the path towards mental health and a healthier life.
