What is High Functioning Anxiety?

A summary of the characteristics of High Functioning Anxiety, and advice on how to deal with it.

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

The people who suffer from it experience a greater propensity to move and not to remain in a state of paralysis, and although at first glance this seems beneficial just for the fact of not staying "still", in cases like this not treating the source of anxiety can be very harmful.

• Article related: "7 reasons why to go to the psychologist is beneficial before the anxiety".

Symptoms of the 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 are also symptoms that can be considered more specific to high-functioning anxiety and are important to review. and that it is important to review. Let us see what they are.

1. Perfectionism

It is characterized by unrealistic expectations that the person suffering from this type of anxiety, is self-imposed, commonly with a mentality of "all or nothing" or "if I'm not the best of all, then I'm the worst of all". Where at the moment of not seeing their expectations realized they are met with great frustration.

2. Fear of disappointing others.

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

3. Exhibiting patterns of control

You can manifest perfectionism by controlling habits and establishing strict routines.. However, this is the way to make yourself feel more in charge of your life. In high-functioning anxiety, missing a single day of physical training or using the wrong color 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 jam-packed with plans, but that pleases you, doesn't it? You find yourself constantly joking about how you always have to be busy to feel fulfilled and happy, because Having something to do constantly distracts 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 stems from your invariable fear of disappointing those around you, and from your admittedly 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 like you can't say no.even though you feel squeezed to the best of your ability.

6. Not sleeping well

Tossing and turning are constant during the night and may be a reflection of what happened during the day. The anxiety that you have hidden, repressed and ignored throughout the day can manifest itself in the form of sleep disorders during the night. in the form of sleep disorders during the night.

7. Pain and repetitive habits

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

Continually biting your fingernails or lip, keeping your foot in motion or cracking your knuckles more frequently are signs that your pent-up anxiety is probably escaping, like a balloon that keeps getting fuller and fuller until it bursts.

8. Not explaining your feelings of anxiety to anyone

People often describe you as unflappable and emotionless; however, you know very well that couldn't be further from the truth. You try to keep your anxiety bottled up inside and hide your emotions in an attempt to think more clearly. in an attempt to think more rationally.

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

The main difference of common anxiety and high-functioning anxiety is that people living with high-functioning anxiety feel a desire to achieve more, as a way of managing their fears and worries. the desire to reach for more, as a way of managing their fears and worries, but this may not solve the real anxiety problem behind the anxiety.but this may not solve the real anxiety problem behind the anxiety.

If you identify with this type of disorder, you will notice that it drives you instead of leaving you stunned with fear, and although in principle you do 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 into account these tips.

1. Develop your attention span

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

2. Take care of your sleep patterns

Sleep hygiene is important to lead a day without physical and mental exhaustion. Thus, it is advisable to have a well-defined time to sleep, it is advisable to have a well-defined time to sleep.. If you do not feel sleepy, it is also advisable to get up and not let your mind race while you are in bed; it is better to do an activity until you feel tired.

3. Observe your thought patterns

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

4. Find strategies to counteract these nervous habits.

Practicing deep breathing or progressive Muscle relaxation can relieve and control the tension of the moment.

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

This technique consists of performing an action that is incongruent with the nervous habit, such as chewing gum to prevent you from biting your lips.such as chewing gum to prevent you from biting your lips.

6. Ask yourself the reason why you are holding on to your anxiety.

Are you afraid that if you are no longer driven by anxiety, you will stop being a competent and hardworking person? Can this happen?

How do you help someone with High Functioning Anxiety?

Those living with high-functioning anxiety may come to be perceived as very perfectionistic, quite driven, or lovers of hard work.

Therefore, it is often difficult to seek help on one's own for someone with this type of anxiety, who inside has thoughts of not doing enough and feels a difficulty in sharing their feelings with those around them.

This is why it is important to reduce the stigma it is important to reduce the stigmaThe goal of this program is to make it easier for people who suffer from anxiety to not only recognize their problems, but also to be encouraged to share it with someone who is willing to help them.

As more people share their experience and identify with having high-functioning anxiety, it may become easier to seek professional help. In this regard, thinking about anxiety in both positive and negative terms can help reduce stigma.. Everyone needs some degree of anxiety to perform tasks in their life.

When to consult a specialist?

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

• You feel that you are worrying excessively and that this interferes significantly with your work, your relationships and other aspects of your life.
• The symptoms you suffer from 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 that anxiety and preoccupation with perfectionism is affecting you in a physically negative way.
• You have suicidal inclinations or tendencies (if so, seek emergency treatment immediately).

Your symptoms may not go away on their own, or may worsen over time if you do not seek help.. See your doctor or a mental health professional you feel comfortable with so you don't let the problem get worse and start treatment to help you get better. It will be easier to treat any symptoms if you get help early.

Prevention

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

To prevent some type of anxiety it is important to adopt a healthy lifestyleIt is important to adopt a healthy lifestyle, with regular physical exercise, especially outdoors, so that it 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 to combat the appearance of different symptoms at the moment they appear, by the hand of specialists or on our own, depending on the degree of help needed in self-implementation.