What is High Functioning Anxiety?

Contrary to what happens with other anxiety disorders, which are characterized by leaving people who suffer from them paralyzed, high-functioning (or high-functioning) anxiety is identified as having the opposite effect.

People who suffer from it experience a greater propensity to move and not remain in a state of paralysis, and although at first glance This seems beneficial only because of not staying "still", in cases like this, not treating the origin of the anxiety can be very harmful.

• Related article: "7 reasons why going to the psychologist is beneficial to anxiety"

Symptoms of High Functioning Anxiety

The usual symptoms of anxiety can also be very present in people with high-functioning anxiety; These include catastrophic thinking, excessive worry, and irritability.

But there is also symptoms that can be considered more specific to high-functioning anxiety and that it is important to review. Let's see what they are.

1. Perfectionism

It is characterized by unrealistic expectations that the person suffering from this type of anxiety will self-imposed, commonly with an 'all or nothing' or 'if I'm not the best of all, then I'm the worst' mentality of all ». Where at the moment of not seeing your expectations fulfilled, you encounter great frustration.

• You may be interested in: "Dysfunctional perfectionism: causes, symptoms and treatment"

2. Fear of disappointing others

Internal dialogue is often negative, constant, and intrusive; This is an undeniable symptom of high-functioning anxiety. The same way, the feeling that you are disappointing the people around you is very common.

3. Display control patterns

You can manifest perfectionism by controlling habits and establishing strict routines. However, this is the way to make yourself feel like you are more in charge of your life. In high-function anxiety, missing a single day of fitness training or using the wrong colored pen can upset you during the day or make you feel bad.

4. Being constantly busy

Your to-do list is gigantic, and your weekends are always full of plans, but that pleases you, doesn't it? You find yourself constantly joking about how you always have to be busy to feel whole and happy, because having something to do constantly distracting you from what will happen when you finally stop and find yourself alone with your own thoughts.

5. Not knowing how to say no

This symptom arises from the invariable fear of disappointing those around you, and from your certainly impossible standards that lead you to accept more than you can probably handle.

You are never able to say no to projects at work, social plans or even helping a friend, even though you feel squeezed to the best of your ability.

6. Not sleeping well

Sudden turns and movements are constant during the night and can be a reflection of what happened during the day. The anxiety that you have hidden, repressed and ignored throughout the day can manifest in form of sleep disorders overnight.

7. Repetitive pain and habits

There are physical manifestations of your mental state that are expressed in succession, such as that constant emptiness in the stomach or the seemingly unexplained neck pain.

Continually biting your nails or lip, keeping your foot moving, or cracking your knuckles more often they are signs that your pent-up anxiety is probably escaping, like a balloon getting more and more crowded until it explodes.

8. Not explaining your anxious feelings to anyone

People often describe you as unbreakable and emotionless; however, you know very well that this could not be further from the truth. You try to keep your anxiety hidden inside you and hide your emotions in an attempt to think more rationally.

• You may be interested in: "The 4 types of anxiety at work"

What can you do if you notice that you have High Functioning Anxiety?

The main difference from common anxiety and high-functioning anxiety is that people living with high-functioning anxiety feel the desire to achieve more, as a way to manage your fears and worries, but this may not solve the real anxiety problem behind

If you identify with this type of disorder, you will notice that it drives you instead of leaving you stunned with fear, and although at first it does not seem bad In relation to how your environment observes you, it is very likely that inside you do not feel the same, so it is important to take these into account advice.

1. Develop your attention span

Learning attention skills is very useful for those living with high-functioning anxiety, as these help you focus on the present instead of thinking through worst-case scenarios of what will happen.

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2. Take care of your sleep patterns

The sleep hygiene it is important to carry a day without physical and mental exhaustion. A) Yes, it is advisable to have a well-defined time to sleep. If you are not sleepy, it is also advisable to get up and not leave your mind racing while in bed; better do an activity until you feel tired.

3. Observe your thought patterns

Anxiety involves a host of negative predictions that will probably never come true. Try to rule out catastrophic thoughts by comparing them to more realistic scenarios.

4. Look for strategies to counteract these nervous habits

Practice deep breathing or progressive muscle relaxation it can alleviate and control the tension of the moment.

5. Learn to perform a competent response to address your nervous habits

This technique consists of perform an action that is inconsistent with nervous habit, like chewing gum to keep you from biting your lips.

6. Ask yourself the reason why you cling to your anxiety

Are you afraid that if your anxiety no longer drives you, you will no longer be a competent and hardworking person? Can this happen?

How to help someone with High Functioning Anxiety?

Those who live with high-functioning anxiety can come to be perceived as very perfectionists, highly motivated, or lovers of hard work.

Therefore, it is often difficult to seek help on your own for someone with this type of anxiety, which inside has thoughts of not doing enough and has a hard time sharing your feelings with others surround.

For this it's important to reduce stigma, so that those people who suffer from some type of anxiety have not only less difficulty in recognize their problems but may also be encouraged to share it with someone willing to help them.

As more people share their experience and identify with having high-functioning anxiety, it may be easier to seek professional help. In this sense, Thinking about anxiety in both positive and negative characteristics can help reduce stigma. Everyone needs a certain degree of anxiety to get things done in their life.

• Related article: "Work stress: causes, and how to combat it"

When to consult a specialist?

Consult with a psychotherapy or medical professional if you feel identified with the following cases:

• You feel that you are worrying excessively and that this significantly interferes with your work, your relationships and other aspects of your life.
• The symptoms you suffer cause you great internal discomfort that you do not know how to cope with.
• You feel depressed and also have problems with the consumption of alcoholic beverages and hallucinogenic drugs
• You feel like the anxiety and preoccupation with perfectionism is affecting you physically negatively.
• You have suicidal inclinations or tendencies (if so, seek emergency treatment immediately)

Symptoms may not go away on their own, or they may get worse over time if you don't seek help. Visit your doctor or a mental health professional that you feel comfortable with so you don't let the problem get worse and start treatment that helps you get better. Treating any symptoms will be easier if you get help early.

Prevention

Anxiety is a common and normal feeling of fear in threatening or difficult circumstances.. It is estimated that 1 in 10 people suffer from anxiety at some point in their life. Therefore, anxiety is not necessarily negative, this is actually a defense mechanism that alerts us and motivates us to face the dangers, although it can become problematic if it occurs in consecutive episodes, intense and for no apparent reason, limiting us to day.

To prevent some kind of anxiety, it is important to adopt a healthy lifestyle, with regular physical exercise, especially outdoors, in a way that also helps us to clear our minds and avoid these anxious feelings.

In the same way, there are several relaxation techniques that can help us combat the appearance of different symptoms in the the moment they appear, from the hand of specialists or on their own, depending on the degree of help needed in the self-implementation.