When people think about anxiety, they think about the recluse of a person who doesn't go outside or doesn't talk to anyone. They think about a person who has random mental breakdowns. What they don't think about the person who goes to school and/or work everyday or the person who helps everyone, or the person who seems to have their life together. The tricky part of anxiety is that it manifests itself in many different ways.
I didn't know about high-functioning anxiety until recently and once I read my first article, I felt better. I realized that I wasn't alone or "weird." I realized what I experience is a real thing. I was diagnosed with anxiety my sophomore year of college and it didn't sit right with me. I didn't act like what I though anxiety was.
When I tell people I have anxiety, they look at me weird and ask me, "What are you anxious about? Why would you be anxious?" Most of the time I just shrug my shoulders and drop the conversation. What I really want to say is that truth is, I don't even know what I'm anxious about. I just get these anxious feelings whenever and I can't do anything about them. Without reading my mind, you wouldn't know I have anxiety.
High-functioning anxiety is being a perfectionist, a busy-body, and a high achiever High-functioning anxiety feels like my heart is beating out of chest. It feels like people are watching your every move even though they're not. It feels like a punch to the stomach and that you're going to get sick constantly. High-functioning anxiety disguises itself as nail biting or nail picking, tapping your foot, or twirling your hair.
High functioning is the worst because it can manifest itself in so many ways in so many different people. The individual could be your best friend, your cousin, your classmate. They could be the most put together person but has high-functioning anxiety. However, you can fight this. I know you can. I know I can. You are stronger than the anxiety.
