What Is High Functioning Anxiety?
Anxiety is one of the issues that I see a lot with clients, even more so with the Oil & Gas downturn that has had so many negative effects on the Aberdeen area and causes a lot of stress.
In particular, there is one type of anxiety that is becoming more common but isn’t always recognised as an anxiety disorder even by people who suffer from it. In this first post for my blog, I wanted to draw attention to high functioning anxiety and the impact it can have.
How High Functioning Anxiety Works
“High functioning” anxiety means that you have anxiety but it doesn’t interfere with your ability to work and interact with other people. In this respect, you’re able to function reasonably well in everyday life and this can be both a good thing and a bad thing.
To the outside world, your anxiety won’t be at all obvious and everything will seem “normal”. Other people may see smiles and laughter and an apparently happy, contented and in control demeanour. And because you’re functioning to a high standard, there won’t be any tell-tale signs in your behaviour or ability to do things so it’s very much a hidden anxiety.
No one will look at you and see the constant anxiety you feel but inside, it’s nothing short of an exhausting battle with your mind. You may feel as though your mind is forever racing at a million miles per hour and never stops finding things to worry about.
High functioning anxiety has a lot of crossover with Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and involves worrying about lots of different things, often excessively and out of proportion to the actual threat that they present. Expecting things to go wrong is also common and fighting against these thoughts is another part of the ongoing battle.
The fact that you can still function to a high standard can mean that you put off getting help for a lot longer compared to types of anxiety that have a big effect on how well you can manage different parts of your life, and this can keep the problem going as it doesn’t feel as though you have an anxiety disorder.
It can often feel as though your situation isn’t severe enough to need treatment because you still feel that you’re functioning well. Truth is, if your anxiety is having a negative impact on your life, you’ll definitely benefit from getting help to overcome it.
The symptoms won’t go away by themselves and if the anxiety isn’t treated, the constant release of cortisol into the bloodstream that is triggered in response to perceived threats can have a lot of negative effects on your health and wellbeing.
Hypnotherapy and High Functioning Anxiety
One of the ways that high functioning anxiety can be treated involves hypnotherapy. This works by bypassing the conscious mind and communicating with the unconscious mind, which is where the trigger(s) of your anxiety are to be found. Hypnotherapy can succeed where other treatments fail because of its ability to do this. As long as you’re committed to overcoming high functioning anxiety and getting back in control of your thoughts, you’ve got nothing to lose by giving hypnotherapy a go and everything to gain!
High functioning anxiety can be a constant daily battle to get through the day but it’s not one that you have to just put up with. Hypnotherapy is now recognised as one of the most successful treatments for anxiety and has a great success rate.
Contact me today to arrange an initial consultation and take the first step towards overcoming high functioning anxiety!
If you’re not based in the Aberdeen area, I also offer appointments via Video Skype and Facetime.
