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7 Signs of High-Functioning Anxiety

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You are living what appears to be productive and satisfying life. But no matter how much you accomplish, you can’t shake the belief that you are inherently flawed and doomed to fail. Frequently having thoughts like these could be one of the 7 signs of high-functioning anxiety.

Defining High-Functioning Anxiety

Before we explore the seven signs of high-functioning anxiety, we should pause to review what, exactly, high-functioning anxiety is.

Anxiety is characterized by excessive worry and fear. In some cases, these emotions are disproportionate to any actual threat. In other cases, they’re present even when there’s no threat at all.

Moderate anxiety can be a normal, healthy response to difficult circumstances. But if this feeling becomes overwhelming or omnipresent, an anxiety disorder may be to blame.

Often, people don’t seek mental health treatment until the symptoms they’ve been experiencing start to cause problems that can’t be ignored. For example, an untreated anxiety disorder can lead to outcomes such as:

  • Substandard performance at work or in school
  • Difficulty getting and keeping a job
  • Delayed or diminished career advancement
  • Financial difficulties
  • Strained relationships with family and friends

Though these are common effects of untreated anxiety, they don’t apply to everyone. Some people who are living with anxiety disorders are able to maintain at least an outward appearance of a successful life. Individuals who are able to accomplish this are sometimes described as having high-functioning anxiety.

Causes of High-Functioning Anxiety

There’s no single cause of high-functioning anxiety. Instead, an array of factors can increase or decrease the likelihood that you’ll develop this condition. Potential risk factors include:

  • Certain genetic variations
  • Some medical concerns
  • Using some types of prescription medication or recreational substances
  • Family history of mental illness
  • Personal history of trauma, especially during childhood
  • Exposure to overwhelming stress
  • Having depression or another co-occurring mental health disorder

What Are the 7 Signs of High-Functioning Anxiety?

The only way to be sure you have an anxiety disorder or any other mental health condition is to be assessed by a qualified expert. But how can you decide if it’s time to schedule an assessment? 

One way is to read through the 7 signs of high-functioning anxiety and see how many of them feel familiar to you:

  1. Perfectionism: Maybe you should review your report one more time before you submit it. Perhaps you should tweak that graphic a bit more before it’s published. What about re-wording that email to ensure it has the exact right tone? Continuing to look for errors and “improve” your work after you should have already finished and moved on to the next task can be a sign of high-functioning anxiety.
  2. Reluctance to delegate: The backlog on your to-do list is growing every day (perhaps due to your perfectionism), but you simply can’t hand off any projects to anyone else. This might be because you don’t think your colleagues will do the job as well as it needs to be done, or it could be related to an unconscious fear that they’ll do it better than you would. Either way, it can also signal that you’re living with high-functioning anxiety.
  3. Negative self-talk: You’re not smart enough. You’re lazy. The only reason your friends still associate with you is because they don’t realize what a mess you are. Thoughts like these are referred to as negative self-talk, even if you don’t say them out loud. Consistently beating yourself up over perceived flaws and shortcomings is unfortunately common among people who have high-functioning anxiety.
  4. Difficulty accepting criticism: Though you may not have many good things to say about yourself, you can still have difficulty accepting critiques or criticism from others. This may be due to your belief that you’re not really worthy of your job, your relationship, or other aspects of your life, and you fear that criticism can be a sign of impending job loss or the end of the relationship.
  5. Difficulty accepting praise: If you can’t accept criticism, at least you can accept praise, right? Not if you have high-functioning anxiety. Many people who have this condition also experience something called imposter syndrome. This means they don’t believe they actually possess the talent or skill necessary to do their job and thus aren’t worthy of positive feedback or other types of praise. 
  6. Vacation guilt: The combination of imposter syndrome, perfectionism, and an unwillingness to delegate can make it very difficult to enjoy time away from work, or even to take time off in the first place. Vacation guilt may involve feeling that you’ve let your colleagues down by not being at work. It can also manifest as the fear that, in your absence, the people you work with might discover that you’re not as valuable or as necessary as they thought you were.
  7. Physical pain: Frequent headaches or stomach aches, unrelenting muscle tension, and persistent fatigue are among the more common physical symptoms of high-functioning anxiety. In more severe cases, symptoms can include lightheadedness, chest pain, abnormal heart rate, difficulty catching your breath, and excessive perspiration – an experience that can cause you to believe you’re having a heart attack.

How to Treat High-Functioning Anxiety

Personalization is an essential aspect of effective care for high-functioning anxiety and other mental health disorders. This means that a program or technique that works wonders for one person may offer little to no value to someone else who has the same condition.

Depending on a range of individual factors, treatment for high-functioning anxiety can occur on either a residential or outpatient basis. Within these programs, patients may benefit from services such as:

With such a range of options available to you, it’s important to find a treatment provider who will take the time to understand the full scope of your needs, so they can develop a truly customized treatment plan to alleviate your high-functioning anxiety and address any co-occurring concerns.

Treat High-Functioning Anxiety at Conscious Health Center

Conscious Health is a trusted source of personalized outpatient treatment for adults who have been living with high-functioning anxiety and other mental health conditions.

When you choose our anxiety treatment center in Los Angeles, California, you can expect to receive concierge-level care from a small team of highly skilled and compassionate professionals. We understand the distress that untreated anxiety can cause, and we’re committed to providing the focused holistic services that will help you achieve true and lasting healing in mind, body, and spirit.

To learn more about how we can help you or a loved one, or to schedule a free consultation, please visit our Contact page or call our center today.

Published: 1/17/2024

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