High functioning anxiety is not a recognized mental health diagnosis.¹ Rather, it’s evolved as a catch-all term that refers to people who live with anxiety but identify as functioning reasonably well in different aspects of their life.

If you have high functioning anxiety, you probably notice that your anxiety propels you forward rather than leaves you frozen in fear.

What High-Functioning Anxiety Looks Like

Someone with high functioning anxiety may be the picture of success. You might arrive to work earlier than everyone else, impeccably dressed, with your hair neatly styled.

Co-workers may say you are driven in your work—you’ve never missed a deadline or fallen short in a given task.¹ Not only that, but you’re also always willing to help others when asked. What’s more, your social schedule also seems busy and full.

What others might not know (and what you would never share) is that beneath the surface of a seemingly perfect exterior, you’re fighting a constant churn of anxiety.

It may have been nervous energy, fear of failure, and being afraid of disappointing others that drove you to success.