The TWO sides of High-Functioning Anxiety

High functioning anxiety (HFA) can create a disconnect in your identity. What your life looks like on the outside may not reflect how you feel on the inside.

On the one hand, this characteristic can drive success in your career & interpersonal relationships but it can also make it hard to nail down what you are passionate about and can cause you to second guess your decisions, experience immense guilt (for no good reason) and overthink every little decision. The double edge sword of anxiety is real.

Here are a few helpful tips to keep in mind as you navigate high-functioning anxiety:

1. Be mindful of your triggers

• What are they?

• When are they happening?

• Are there certain people, places, and events that cause you to be more triggered?

• Bring awareness to those circumstances and practice paying attention without judgment.

2. Keep a journal of your emotions + triggers

• Awareness is key.

• Humans are really bad at remembering events. We tend to only remember how we feel. Keeping a record of your emotions and triggers will help you piece together the puzzle.

3. Figure out your emotional response patterns (are there specific things that typically make you upset? How do you usually respond?)

• The energy you respond with is the energy that created the problem in the first place. (read that again and let it sink in).

• Remember: it is always an option to reach for a slightly better feeling thought.

• The key is not to change your entire outlook at this moment but to reach for a thought that helps you feel relief.

• When you focus on a single positive thought for 17 seconds, another one will appear, then another and another. Let yourself go there!

4. Practice leaning into your fear rather than avoiding them (more on this to come in future posts— follow along for more info on this topic)

• How do you do this?

  • When something triggers you (makes you feel angry, sad, fearful, or upset) practice embracing it rather than pushing it away.

  • Picture yourself welcoming in that feeling with open arms — you will be surprised how quickly the fear dissipates when you welcome it rather than try to push it away.

5. When/ if you feel stuck and want some more guidance applying these principles to your own life, consider watching this free masterclass I created it specifically with you in mind. My goal is to help you piece everything together and live a life free from anxiety. Believe it or not, anxiety is 100% treatable.

• In this masterclass you will learn:

  ✔ Anxiety 101: Why therapy and medication don’t always work for anxiety (and what you should be doing instead!)

  ✔ My 3-Step method to overcome anxiety holistically, (without having a traditional support system, medication or therapy. note: it has nothing to do with "self-discipline".

  ✔ Introduction to the Anxiety-Free Method Online Course.

  ✔ How to live in a way where anxiety no longer dominates your life and decisions (so you can flourish & fulfill your potential!)

That is it for today! Sending you all my love!!

XOX Dr. Jenn