A clinical psychologist has shared three signs that might indicate you have high functioning anxiety, as people may think they don’t have it if they’re able to do many things during their day.
Feeling anxiety during a stressful time is natural but there are millions of people around the world with an anxiety disorder that makes these times even more difficult to navigate.
According to the Mayo Clinic people with high functioning anxiety most likely have generalized anxiety disorder but are still able to carry out a high level of activities in their lives such as maintaining a successful career.
However, while on the outside they might look like they’ve got life handled and are dealing with what it throws at them internally they’re likely to be suffering a lot on the inside.
Clinical psychologist Dr Julie Smith took to YouTube to explain three of what she saw as the main signs of high functioning anxiety, for those wondering if they had it.
Someone might look like they’re dealing with the pressure but inside they’re really struggling (Getty Stock Photo)
Top of her list was: “You experience high levels of anxiety, but that feeling tends to drive you forward so you still meet everyone’s expectations for you and they never know you experience so much fear.”
To have high functioning anxiety you will have anxiety as part of the package, and according to the psychologist it can actually push you forward in some ways.
On the other hand it sounds as though you would be having entirely unenviable feelings of fear on the inside, as being pushed forward doesn’t always mean succeeding.
Second on her series of three signs to watch out for was: “You function really well in day-to-day life.
“The problem comes when you have to slow down or stop and rest, you might be known to your friends as a workaholic.”
People with high functioning anxiety might ‘overfunction’ and do more than they can manage (Getty Stock Photo)
The Mayo Clinic said that people with high functioning anxiety can ‘overfunction’, which means they might spend more hours working, volunteer for something else or find other ways to push themselves to do what they think success looks like.
It can result in someone being badly burned out from putting themselves under a huge amount of stress and pressure.
Third and final on Dr Julie’s list was ‘you appear calm on the outside but you’re constantly worrying and doubting yourself on the inside’.
HelpGuide says people with high functioning anxiety will often have negative thoughts and strong self-criticism, so even if on the outside someone looks like they can handle things there’s a while internal struggle going on.