5 Subtle Signs That Might Mean You’re Living With High-Functioning Anxiety, According To Psychology
You might look calm on the outside, but these clues may reveal an anxious mind working overtime.
Scopio | Canva Do you often feel anxious for no reason? Sometimes, high-functioning anxiety is not something we are born with. We acquire it due to several external conditions. Sometimes we fall prey to it, while other times we subconsciously invite it. But seldom do we realize that anxiety can also manifest itself in the most unusual ways.
Enter the case of high-functioning anxiety disorder. Research explains that high-functioning anxiety disorder can be defined as the tendency and practice of undertaking pursuits to avoid exhibiting chronic anxiety traits to the external world. To unveil this psychological enigma, we need to dive straight into the tell-tale signs of this mysterious condition that has been overlooked by the mental health communities until now.
Here are the subtle signs that might mean you’re living with high-functioning anxiety, according to psychology:
1. You're successful, yet restless
Nebojsa Tatomirov / Shutterstock
People suffering from high-functioning anxiety disorder will come across as successful professionals with relatively stable careers. They always arrive early, meet deadlines, exceed expectations, etc.
On the outside, this looks normal, since we all crave professional stability and want to climb the corporate ladder. But as they say, looks can be deceiving.
If you probe deep into their subconscious, you’ll find that they’re doing all this not out of the desire to excel in their career, but out of the fear and anxiety of losing out on their job. We all subconsciously brood over our financial future and try to avoid mistakes as much as possible.
But those with high-functioning anxiety are constantly worried about their performances, even if they’ve received good, if not the best, feedback in their appraisals. No amount of appreciation can relax them into acknowledging and contending with their efficiency.
2. You're not in tune with your personal life
voronaman / Shutterstock
We all love enjoying our personal space after long office hours. But, the same cannot be said about people suffering from a high-functioning anxiety disorder.
Since they suppress their anxiety all day, their mind becomes exhausted from the emotional tension and tends to release the toxin. This results in sudden fits of rage, mood swings, getting annoyed for no reason, depression, and a lack of interpersonal communication.
Their family, their close ones, friends, and relatives remain bewildered as to why this person, who’s so successful in their profession, tends to go haywire when engaging in their sphere.
Little do they know that these behaviors are but defense mechanisms to cope with the immense mental and emotional restraints they impose on their health to make things look normal at their workplace.
While this isn't a direct sign of high-functioning anxiety, research confirms that it can be a symptom of the underlying anxiety that manifests as a disconnect from oneself. Individuals with high-functioning anxiety may prioritize external achievements and social performance, leading to neglecting their own needs and well-being.
3. You always strive for perfection but often feel incomplete
fizkes / Shutterstock
High-functioning anxiety patients are addicted to delivering things with perfection. While such an attitude is highly appreciated in this era of competitive precision, things fail to work out well when this approach is taken a bit too far.
In this case, the person strives for perfection but feels imperfect all the time. No matter what they do or how much effort they put in, they always have this nudging sensation of incompleteness.
It is as if something is always missing. Now, the world around us manifests in the ways we perceive it to be. So, for these people, their world is always in need of betterment.
Be it in the office or personal space, they always hunt for improvement, even if things are going smoothly and are in order. The more they feel discontented with things as they are, the more this feeling tends to haunt them.
4. You're unable to rest, even when drained and exhausted
Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock
People suffering from high-functioning anxiety disorder perceive the world as a continuous flow of deadlines to be met at any cost. When tired after office hours, we usually take a rest by mentally distancing ourselves from all the professional hassles, but that is not the case with these people.
Their mind keeps poking them about the burdens of the next day. This keeps them from getting the minimum mental rest they need to function as a healthy individual. They always keep thinking about the next day and brood about their upcoming performances. Why? The same fear of failure.
This level of anxiety somehow makes them feel that they have not performed as per the expectations (which they set up in their mind, by the way), and whether they’d be able to get things done the following day. And since every next day leads to yet another day of toil, the cycle is never-ending.
One study explained that high-functioning anxiety often manifests as intense mental and physical fatigue, even when the person is outwardly performing well. This is because the constant mental strain and worry associated with anxiety can be physically draining.
5. You tend to take things too seriously
fizkes / Shutterstock
People suffering from high-functioning anxiety are deterred by small things. What to others may seem very petty, lame, or insignificant, can bear enough gravity to suck out all their calm.
They always feel that things are not in place and that something needs to be done to fix them. This keeps them from enjoying the fruits of life.
Instead, they always suffer from an internal conflict between satisfaction and restlessness. They want to feel accomplished in every step, no matter how insignificant they may seem.
This self-imposed expectation robs them of their mental peace and substitutes it with discontent and misery. Here's how it affects your health. High-functioning anxiety disorder results in severe health repercussions.
Since human emotions and physique are parts of the same continuum of existence, this psychological condition takes no time in taking over physical health. If you truly want to prosper, make imperfection your friend instead of trying to run away from it.
Embrace the flaws, your effect, and see how things turn up. Always remember what the ancients said: “Living things are imperfect, that’s why they grow; only inanimates are perfect, that’s why they’re dead.”
Ethan Ray is a health & wellness writer and a former contributor to The Mind's Journal.
