Dangers of High Functioning Anxiety

As mentioned in my previous blog post, High Functioning Anxiety is a term that typically refers to someone who experiences anxiety while still managing daily life quite well.


Here are the Dangers of High Functioning Anxiety if you ignore it and keep it untreated.




1.       Damage to Physical Health




While high functioning anxiety can have some positive effects on the person, such as keeping the person still functional and able to handle daily tasks well, the internal struggle and torment are something that can be detrimental to the person’s health over time.


With poor sleep, muscular tension, and being constantly on the edge, the mind is always pushing the body beyond what it can handle. Over time, the body will be physically drained and fatigued that it may shut down instantaneously one day in the form of stroke, heart attack, malignant tumours, epilepsy, autoimmune diseases, skin diseases and many other major illnesses.


2.       Delays in Seeking Help


Masking


High functioning anxiety is a special form of anxiety in which unless the patient recognizes the danger of the condition and the need to seek help, delays are almost certain. This is because the positive characteristics of high functioning anxiety may appear so great that they can mask the negative characteristics and help them achieve more in life. When this happens, the patient may choose to endure the internal struggle in silent.


Shame


Individuals suffering from high functioning anxiety appear successful and perfect on the outside. Therefore it makes whoever who interacts with them hard to believe that they are actually in torment on the inside. The patient suffering from the problem recognizes the external shells that they have to wear due to their positions and roles in society and may even feel shameful to accept what they may be suffering from. This makes it harder for patients to take the step out to ask for help.


3.       Complications with Depression

Delays in getting high functioning anxiety can bleed into depression and this usually causes complications that will take longer time and greater effort to resolve.

However, development to depression is also the usual point when patient will start to seek help as the symptoms of depression will start to affect the high efficiency of their lives that they once upkeep with high functioning anxiety. When depression develops, the patient will start to lose interest in the things they enjoy, have trouble getting out of bed, the mind will run slower, thoughts of life not being worthwhile which for highly successful individuals are “not acceptable” in their usual accelerated functioning mode.

 

So what conventional help is there for High Functioning Anxiety? Are there any side effects to them?

Read on in my next blog.

TCM(Traditional Chin Med), TCM Wellness, TCM and Science, Basics of TCMXiang Jun LimDr (TCM) Xiang Juntcm, acupuncture, traditional chinese medicine, depression, anxiety, mental health, high functioning anxiety, successful, dangers