Therapy for High-Functioning Anxiety

You may have arrived here because…

  • You feel the constant need to control the things around you, such as work, relationships, or outcomes.

  • You tend to overthink or overanalyze and may even second guess or doubt yourself.

  • You seek external validation from other people in your life.

  • You put other people or work over yourself, even if it’s at the dispense of your energy and mental health.

  • You continue to reach your personal and/or professional goals but you feel like it’s not enough, so you push yourself to do more.

What is high-functioning anxiety?

High-functioning anxiety is when you experience anxiety symptoms while also being able to manage daily tasks, such as work and personal relationships. Anxiety symptoms may manifest as intrusive thoughts, overwhelming emotions, sleeping difficulty, perfectionism, stress, and fatigue.

Folks living with high functioning anxiety often ignore their mental health and don’t seek help because they can achieve success despite their symptoms. Their anxiety can even be seen as a driving factor for their ability for high performance. Even though it may be viewed positively as being an over-achiever, the tradeoff is the physical, emotional, and mental toll it takes to maintain their current level of functioning.

Signs of high-functioning anxiety include:

  • Intrusive thoughts

  • Overwhelming emotions

  • Sleeping difficulty

  • Difficulty concentrating

  • Perfectionism

  • Stress, fatigue, and burnout

Folks with high-functioning anxiety may also:

  • Have poor boundaries

  • Are detail-oriented

  • Replay past mistakes and feel regret

  • Engage in people pleasing

  • Keep a busy schedule

High functioning anxiety treatment

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an evidenced based modality where we reexamine your thought patterns to identify the root cause of your anxiety. Finding the root will help build awareness into your inner world—with awareness we can introduce coping techniques to challenge your thought patterns, reframe anxious thoughts into more balanced ones and ultimately change the narrative surrounding yourself which can help you move past the anxiety.

Somatic Experiencing Therapy is an evidenced based body centered modality that can help you locate the feeling of stress and anxiety in your body and then move towards releasing them. Anxiety can be stored on a physical level which can impact your overall health, this can look like poor sleep, high blood pressure, and uncomfortable sensations in your throat, stomach or chest. It is important to examine your thoughts and challenge them when they are not helpful and it’s equally important to be aware of your physical sensation.

By working holistically with both your mind and the body, you can begin to build more resiliency in your nervous system to guide you beyond your stress and self-doubt to build healthier behavioral patterns that aligns with what you want.

I’m committed to helping you find more balance and ease. 

It’s okay to ask for help. Sometimes when you’ve been handling everything on your own for so long, you may have a hard time confronting the habits and defenses that are no longer working for you. Together we can reexamine your values and goals and create a life that is healthier for you. I invite you to learn more about my style and to contact me for a free consultation to see how I can support you in your journey forward.