You are an overachieving perfectionist. You drive yourself hard, and you bulldozer through challenges. Others admire your achievements and the outer optics suggest you have it all together. However, when the corporate mask comes off, what others don’t see are the heightened anxiety levels, the rumination, and the endless self-judgment in the relentless pursuit of excellence.And for me, all of the above suddenly made sense, when I read an article on ‘High Functioning Anxiety’ by Daisy Goodwin. She shares that although not officially recognised, it is a thing – “swanlike on the surface, yet paddling through a lagoon of insecurity, dread, and anxiety below”.

Learnings on how to manage High Functioning Anxiety:

𝟭. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗼𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘃𝘂𝗹𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. It gives others permission to do the same and makes you relatable.

𝟮. 𝗕𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗻-𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗻-𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰.

𝟯. 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗻𝘁 – you can “re-program” yourself.

𝟰. 𝗕𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝘂𝗻𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀. It is difficult to switch them off, but you can learn how to manage them.

𝟱. 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝘂𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀. But what if you have been successful in spite of these, not because of them? Thank you DrMandy Lehto for sharing this.

𝟲. 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘅 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲. Diarise and fiercely protect thisspace. This is not unproductive time, but resourcing.

𝟳. 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲. They can help with perspective.

𝟴. 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗮 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗯𝘆 𝗶𝘁𝘀’ 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿. Just because others look like they have their life/work together, it doesn’t mean they do.

What could healthy achievement look like for you?