Are You Driven by High-Functioning Anxiety?

Image of a businessman with briefcase running on moving gears, illustrating the relentless drive and pressure of high-functioning anxiety in the corporate world.

Understanding High-Functioning Anxiety

It's amazing how many similar mindset challenges and comments my clients, friends, and former colleagues raise in sessions and conversations. Indeed, all too often, I recognize my former self in the things they mention. One such topic that frequently comes up is a fear of losing motivation and diligence if they were to rid themselves of anxiety and start feeling content in life.

The Paradox of Anxiety: Fear of Relaxation

As perverse as it sounds, I can remember taking leave and fearing becoming too relaxed. I felt if I switched off entirely from work, I’d forget about something important or would go back to the office and get slammed back down to earth on my first day. It seems ridiculous now, but that's how I felt at the time.

These feelings and thoughts ultimately come from a place of feeling threatened, commonly known as “threat stress,” which can lead to anxiety or, if severe, a panic attack.

Challenge Stress vs. Threat Stress

At a certain level, some degree of stress can be beneficial. Useful stress, often known as “challenge stress,” helps us get out of bed in the morning, motivates us to do difficult tasks, and generally moves us forward in life. This is a good thing. It's beneficial to us and to the human species as we get things done and progress in life.

However, there is a type of anxiety stemming from threat stress that is ultimately detrimental to our well-being. Like standard anxiety, it can hinder us and cause self-destructive behavior, but it can also drive us to perform at a high level, at least giving the appearance of success.

Understanding High-Performance Anxiety

This is often known as high-performance anxiety. Many organizations specifically hire for this profile, whether consciously or unconsciously. Many high performers and those in senior positions suffer from this. Some are aware, while others might have lived with it so long they’ve normalized it or feel addicted to it.

Those with high-performance anxiety often appear efficient, successful, and confident. However, internally, they may grapple with crippling self-doubt, perfectionism, overthinking, and a constant background fear of failure. They may also suffer from addictive or habitual behavior.

The Cost of High-Performance Anxiety

There’s no doubt that high-performance anxiety can lead individuals to achieve great things, certainly in the short or medium term. But there are significant disadvantages. If unmanaged, those with high-performance anxiety are on the pathway to burnout. Even if they do make it through a significant part of their career, events such as retirement, redundancy, or not meeting expectations in a specific role can trigger an identity crisis.

Aside from the personal challenges that high-performance anxiety can bring, it also prevents you from bringing the best version of yourself to your role. While traits such as obsessive behavior, being highly vigilant, and constantly looking ahead for the worst possible scenario can deliver results, there are limitations to this mindset.

Survival Mode: The Impact on Your Mind and Relationships

When you’re suffering from any form of anxiety, you’re unlikely to be consciously in control of your mind. Your brain is in survival mode, and you’re largely acting habitually. We struggle to think rationally, come up with creative solutions, and our decision-making can be poor. We may also struggle to connect with and properly understand others. Perhaps we see them as a threat or react emotionally to certain triggers.

In threat mode, we’re looking out for danger and often missing positive opportunities.

Rewiring Your Brain: The Good News

The good news is that our brains are plastic. With conscious focus, repetition, and support, we can effectively rewire our brains, and it's never too late to do so. The starting point is recognizing your issue and finding your motivation to change. If you have high-performance anxiety, there’s a level of investment you have in staying the same, which needs to be counterbalanced.

Take the First Step

If you’re interested in finding out more about managing high-performance anxiety and transforming your approach, DM me for a virtual coffee at stephen@navigatethecurve.com.