What is high-functioning anxiety (and what can you do about it)?

High-functioning anxiety includes many of the same symptoms as generalised anxiety – excessive worrying, ruminating, difficulty switching off, difficulty sleeping, self-doubt, perfectionism, and self-criticism. With generalised anxiety, the symptoms cause what we call ‘clinically significant impairment’ in at least one area of a person’s life. High-functioning anxiety, on the other hand, is when anxiety becomes the drive behind an unrelenting pursuit of success. People end up pursuing success at the expense of themselves, their health and their relationships. When a person reaches their goals, the satisfaction quickly wears off and the person is constantly ‘onto the next thing’. No matter how much they manage to achieve or succeed, it is never enough.

What are the main symptoms?

High-functioning anxiety is difficult to spot, because of how it drives a person to overperform. On the outside, these are the people who look like they have it all together. They hold themselves to exceptionally high standards, are the overachievers and people pleasers of our society. They fluctuate between being close to perfection, or not getting started at all. On the inside, you will see a picture of overthinking every last detail, pushing past the point of exhaustion, struggling to be in the moment, and procrastination. Self-criticism and inadequacy are in the driver’s seat.

What kind of problems does it cause in everyday life?

High-functioning anxiety creates a paradoxical effect and an enormous amount of self-imposed pressure to be perfect.

This pressure in turn increases a person’s stress response, which releases a cocktail of chemicals into the body that may lead to brain fog, procrastination, leaving things to the last minute, and overthinking to a point that is unhelpful. This reduces a person’s ability to think clearly and to perform to their full potential, becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy of not performing to the level of their potential. The anxiety underneath the surface causes people to overcompensate for their own perceived inadequacies. They are the people who will go above and beyond, be the highest-performers in a team, and gladly sacrifice sleep or social activities to make sure they meet their own standards. If left unchecked, this can lead to burnout, a reduced sense of satisfaction in life, and even physical health difficulties.

What are the best coping strategies?

At the root of high-functioning anxiety you will usually find a fractured self-image, and a lot of self-doubt. Ultimately, the journey of overcoming high-functioning anxiety is about getting to a point where you believe that you are enough, as you are. It’s about finding meaning in the moments of life, and becoming more present to the opportunities for connection. When we repair the fractures in a person’s self-image, the all-encompassing pursuit of success comes down to a healthy level of ambition. Therapy can be enormously helpful in facilitating this process.

If you want a few starting points, these are our top tips:

01

Compassionate Curiosity:

If you start to listen to the small narrative running in your own mind, you will likely start to hear the voice of your inner critic. This narrative fuels anxiety and constantly focuses on our inadequacies. The first step is actively starting to notice when this voice becomes the loudest, and then turn the monologue of self-criticism into a dialogue – with compassionate curiosity being the other voice. Get curious about what is happening in the context, what the expectations are, how you are feeling, and what you need in order to be at your best.

02

Nervous System Regulation: 

If you are constantly in a stress response, you probably don’t even realise just how much stress you carry anymore, because we become desensitised to it. A dysregulated nervous system will impair your ability to perform to your full potential faster than anything else. Breath work, meditation, sleep, exercise, nutrition, and paying attention to your emotions are all a good starting point.

03

Focus on Successes, Not Failures: 

We all have strengths and weaknesses. The brain has a cognitive bias that causes us to get fixated on all of the things we get wrong, and overlooks the things we do well. Training your brain to deliberately shift your focus away from your failures (applying compassionate curiosity to them), and actively look at what you are good at, can completely change the way you feel about yourself, if you practise it frequently enough.

04

Make Space for Imperfection: 

This is based on what we call a paradoxical intervention, and it works like magic if you can get it right. The idea is that when you allow yourself some room to get things wrong, you’re more likely to feel less stressed, and therefore more likely to get going, and to do your best work. You have to change your relationship with failure. If you frame failure differently, you disempower the fear attached to it – failure is the most powerful teacher, and it reflects so much more than your ability. You either get the outcome that you want, or the lesson that you need.