Like every other health condition, anxiety has many variations one of which is high functioning anxiety. High functioning anxiety refers to someone who has anxiety but is still able to manage their daily lives. Since it is not an anxiety disorder recognized by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), high functioning anxiety is not a recognized mental health diagnosis.

People with high functioning anxiety can function normally through daily life because their anxiety is used as a way to drive them forward towards their goals instead of overcoming them and leaving them frozen in fear. They do well at their jobs, manage their finances effectively and maintain positive relationships with people around them while still fighting through anxious feelings and thoughts. 

On the outside, a person with high functioning anxiety seems put together, calm and successful but on the inside they are a huge emotional mess!

Some of the common positive characteristics of a person with high functioning anxiety are:

+ organized

+ detail-oriented 

+ calm and collected

+ outgoing 

+ punctual

+ proactive 

+ high-achieving 

+ passionate

These positive character traits are what help a person with high functioning anxiety function better than others in their daily lives and bring them success. 

However, behind that successful, outgoing and approachable person, there's a constant battle with anxiety going on. Here are some of the negative characteristics that a person with high functioning anxiety has to struggle with:

+ People Pleaser

They are afraid of driving people away and constantly battle with the fear of letting down a loved one, friend and even an employer. The reason why they are perceived as such a good friend or a good employee is that underneath it all, they are scared of disappointing you.

+ Nervous Chatter

People with high functioning anxiety often come off as friendly and talkative because they talk a lot, share a lot about themselves and even share their opinion on things openly. However, what people don't realise is that all this talking is actually a way to cope with their nerves and distract them from their anxious emotions. 

+ Nervous habits

If you look closely at someone with high functioning anxiety, you'll notice that they are constantly fidgeting as a way to cope with their nerves. They're either always playing with their hair, cracking their knuckles, biting their nails or even shaking their legs. Besides that, they also are often seen doing repetitive things like rocking back and forth, repeating certain phrases and even counting stairs. 

+ Overthinking & overanalyzing 

While a person with high functioning anxiety is perceived as calm and collected on the inside they are actually a huge mess. They are constantly overthinking and overanalyzing everything they say, everything other people say, everything that happens around them, and every decision they make comes after hours of overthinking and overanalyzing and is followed by days of overthinking and overanalyzing their decision. 

+ Need for reassurance

They constantly need to know if what they're doing is right. They're always asking their boss for directions, checking if they are doing the right thing, double-checking if they are on the right track and even checking with others if they are doing the same thing as them. 

+ Can't say 'No'

This comes hand in hand with the 'people pleaser' attitude, they're afraid of disappointing others so they refuse to say no even though saying yes disrupts your life. This is why they always find themselves with overbooked and overloaded schedules. They are always but will still offer to help a friend in need in fear that if they didn't help the friend would leave them. 

+ Dwelling on negative thoughts

A person with high functioning anxiety keeps on thinking about the 'what ifs'. What if I chose the wrong option? What if she got offended by the way I asked that question? What if I didn't do that correctly? The 'what ifs' are endless and they keep them in fear of what they did wrong, even if they didn't do anything wrong. 

Are you someone with high functioning anxiety? Please share how having high functioning anxiety has affected your life in the comments section.