Someone with high-functioning anxiety can appear well-accomplished on the outside but can be experiencing worry, stress or obsessive thoughts on the inside. They may show the signs and symptoms of anxiety paired with unique behaviours such as: controlling behaviour with strict routines and habits.
Some common symptoms of high-functioning anxiety include: Constantly overthinking and overanalyzing. Fear of failure and striving for perfection. Insomnia and fatigue.
These include feeling anxious and worrying more days than not for at least six months and other signs such as restlessness, trouble sleeping, muscle tension, and irritability. These problems need to cause clinically significant distress or impairment to warrant an anxiety disorder diagnosis, per the CDC.
If this sounds like you, you might be dealing with high-functioning anxiety, a condition in which you experience the symptoms of anxiety, such as persistent feelings of fear, unease, or worry, while still successfully managing all the demands of daily life.
Anxiety triggers our natural fight or flight response. Individuals with high-functioning anxiety tend to get stuck in the “fight” mode, whereas those with low-functioning anxiety prefer the “flight” mode.
ADHD vs Anxiety: What's the Difference? The difference between ADHD and anxiety ultimately comes down to whether or not the individual is not focused because of fearful, apprehensive thoughts, or is not focused because of being easily distracted even though their mind is calm.
Medication can also be beneficial treating high functioning anxiety. Usually, antidepressants—selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), anti-anxiety medications—benzodiazepines, and beta blockers are prescribed to decrease anxiety symptoms.
“High-functioning anxiety can be treated the same way that other anxiety disorders, like generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) are treated, through therapy, lifestyle changes and medication, depending on severity,” Dr. Dannaram said.
Anxiety is a feeling that can take the form of nervousness, tension, and/or unease regarding past, present, or future events. The severity of an individual's anxiety can generally be classified as either mild, moderate, severe, or panic-level, the last of which usually qualifies as panic disorder.
It's not uncommon for people with anxiety to be misdiagnosed with ADHD, or vice versa.
Be open to listening.
A person with high functioning anxiety may struggle to communicate what they are thinking or even appear emotionally unavailable. Allow them to discuss what they are worried about and try to encourage them by reminding them of their strengths.
Anxiety disorders are the most common of mental disorders. They affect nearly 30% of adults at some point in their lives. However, anxiety disorders are treatable with a number of psychotherapeutic treatments.
Research has indicated that individuals with high emotional reactivity (high neuroticism) and introverted tendencies (low extroversion) are more likely to experience anxiety than other personality types [101].
The 3 P's stand for Pervasiveness, Permanence and Personalisation. Pervasiveness looks at how much of your life a concern impacts – How big? Permanence looks at how long an issue is going to be of concern – How long? Personalisation looks at how much you feel you are to blame – How much?
The four “Ps” of case formulation (predisposing, precipitating, perpetuating, and protective factors) also provide a useful framework for organizing the factors that may contribute to the development of anticipatory distress (Barker, 1988; Carr, 1999; Winters, Hanson, & Stoyanova, 2007).
Difficult experiences in childhood, adolescence or adulthood are a common trigger for anxiety problems. Going through stress and trauma when you're very young is likely to have a particularly big impact. Experiences which can trigger anxiety problems include things like: physical or emotional abuse.
feeling tense, nervous or unable to relax. having a sense of dread, or fearing the worst. feeling like the world is speeding up or slowing down. feeling like other people can see you're anxious and are looking at you.
It's worth talking to a doctor if you can't bring yourself to leave the house because you fear something bad might happen. If you worry so much that you find yourself with physical sensations, like shaking or hot flashes, a doctor, and perhaps anxiety medication, can help.
People with anxiety will struggle with focus and attention, but it's because their minds are so preoccupied with anxious and worry-filled thoughts. Whereas the ADHD brain struggles with focus and attention due to being easily distracted (Drake Institute).
Why might autistic people experience anxiety? Even though it is not part of the autism diagnostic criteria, many autistic people experience high levels of anxiety. Research varies but the consensus suggests that it might be common for around 40-50% of autistic people to receive a clinical diagnosis of anxiety.