Getting Help For Your High-Functioning Anxiety
“Giving up my anxiety will negatively impact my success.” Is this what you tell yourself?
Like most New Yorkers, your days are busy with work, family and trying to find a way to manage and balance it all. With all that striving and the many tasks to complete, who has time to think about stress reduction or connecting with a therapist to help you manage your anxiety and mood symptoms. You may even wonder who you’d be without your drive—and your anxiety! Take away the anxiety and you’d potentially lose your edge.
You may not even consider your striving to be an anxiety response. As a therapist, we see this a lot. You haven’t crashed yet, and we would like to help you have an even better quality of life. If you haven’t yet crashed, how can you tell if your level of stress and anxiety is normal? Skillful therapy can help you recognize how your stress, anxiety and unconscious beliefs are behind your super-charged drive. If you spend any time on instagram, you’ve likely heard of high-functioning depression, as well as high-functioning anxiety. They are unofficial terms not yet recognized by the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder), yet important to recognize and treat because these signs and symptoms can negatively affect mental health and well-being. High-functioning anxiety essentially describes a chronic level of anxiety that might not necessarily meet the criteria for diagnosis of an anxiety disorder but is problematic impacting you health nonetheless.
How does high-functioning anxiety show up in your life?
Over achievers
Over scheduled
Perfectionists
Highly organized
Detail oriented
Over thinkers
Over worried
Racing thoughts
Obsessive checkers
Concerns about disappointing others
Chronic headache, body pain and tension
Jaw pain, facial tension
Unable to relax
Unable to socialize
Impossible standards for self
Impossible standards for others
Difficulty sleeping
Strained relationships
Increased alcohol and substance abuse
Seeking Treatment For High-Functioning Anxiety
You may possess the self-awareness to recognize that you have many of the above symptoms. Your ways have served you well, and yet some part of you knows that it’s just not sustainable. It will catch up to you, and you’ve probably heard that stress is a killer. It’s a good thing to know that you can identify and begin tracking the connection between your stress and symptoms. It’s not too late to find balance and even work with a skilled anxiety therapist, before you go on to develop a diagnosable anxiety or depression condition. Your high stress and anxiety can easily develop into generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, social anxiety, agoraphobia, phobias, and obsessive compulsive disorder.
How does high-functioning anxiety Impact on Your Physical Health?
Left unchecked, high-functioning anxiety can have deleterious consequences for your physical health. If you know anything about Polyvagal Theory, you know that we humans are biologically programmed to have a physiological response to a perceived threat such as a tiger in the wild. We have a spontaneous release of adrenalin and cortisol, our heart rage increases, are muscles are primed to run. When this response is activated, the body remains in threat response mode until the threat is resolved. Life on the daily in New York City with your morning commute and people on their phones multitasking can leave your body and nervous system in a perpetual stress response. Your body is not meant to live in such an elevated state all the time.
How can I course correct before it’s too late?
As stated earlier, begin to notice and observe yourself. If you find yourself feeling despair or overwhelmed, this may be a sign to give yourself permission to slow down or find a professional to help you. Sometimes others see unhealthy behaviors and responses. Instead of meeting the concerns of others defensively, be open to taking their concern seriously. Let others help you scale back a bit if this is an option. When stressed, many find that important relationships are impacted as well as an increase in alcohol use and substance abuse. In short, high-functioning anxiety stresses your work and your personal life.
It seems like it’s an all or nothing thing living in New York City, how can i find balance?
You may believe that anxiety is a good thing, and some degree of anxiety is helpful. Many believe that their high anxiety serves them, and it does to some extent, until it doesn’t. If you’re living on wine and xanax, you aren’t thriving. Not suggesting a move to the country and giving up your wine completely. You may learn that if you begin to make some small changes, you can maintain your edge and still be productive and successful.
What therapy options exist for high-functioning anxiety?
In my Manhattan psychotherapy private practice, I see plenty of highly anxious, high-achievers. I’m always delighted to help people find balance and perspective. There are many ways to achieve this and for some, medication is helpful. For others, a combination of interventions including, psychodynamic psychotherapy, cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), EMDR Therapy and IFS therapy.
About Holistic Psychotherapy & Wellness Manhattan
Kimberly Seelbrede, LCSW is a New York State licensed Psychotherapist, EMDR Practitioner and Couple Therapist with a private practice in New York City, Montana and virtually. As a wellness psychotherapist and holistic consultant, she has receive advanced, extensive training in Trauma Therapy, Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Somatic Experiencing (SE), and Nutrition & Integrative Medicine For Mental Health. She is passionate about honoring the exquisite interplay of the mind-body connection. Kimberly Seelbrede specializes in anxiety & mood disorders, trauma and women’s mental health. She brings over 20 years of counseling, coaching, and healing experience to her holistic practice and transformational work.
In addition to online therapy for anxiety, depression, trauma and relationship struggles, Holistic Psychotherapy & Wellness offers a wide variety of online services to fit the needs of busy professionals. New Yorkers often lead fast-paced and complex lives, which makes work-life balance and managing career, family and social obligations a challenge. Psychotherapy and wellness practices provides the support to help clients cultivate resources, resilience and enhanced emotional health, as well as uncover conflicts and obstacles that may interfere with having the life they desire.