How to recognise and cope with High Functioning Anxiety

In our world that glamourises the constant doing and being on the go, pausing or taking a break can feel like you are failing. Over working and functioning at a high level can become the norm, a façade to repress any worries or feelings of inadequacy. This is what high-functioning anxiety can look like.

High-functioning anxiety is a form of anxiety where those who are affected appear, on the surface, to be in control. They are often high achievers, doing well in their careers, and regarded as successful. Yet, this can often mask an underlying self-doubt, stress and fear of failure.

"It is someone who presents in one way where they show up, they are organised, hard-working, they are social, but underneath all that they are over thinking, catastrophising, ruminating, and feeling quite lost and disconnected," says pyschologist Dr Lalitaa Suglani, author of High-Functioning Anxiety.

Growing up as a second generation British immigrant, she was torn between two cultures, striving to succeed and please the demands of her parents, while conforming to the norms of the Western world. "You learn to be the good girl, to follow the rules," she says. In order to cope, she developed high-functioning anxiety.

In her book, she describes her situation:

"My ‘solution’ to my problems was to try and become ‘successful,’ but at the heart of them lay a lack of values and meaningful connections with others. And although I felt exhausted by it all, I believed there was nothing else I could do. I was scared to ask for help because I didn’t want to reveal how ‘messed up’ I thought I was."

When anxiety is the motivator

One of the problems with high-functioning anxiety is that it drives a person to function at a high level, over achieve in some cases, and excel at what they do. This is not something many people want to change or rectify!