The truth about high functioning anxiety - and how it causes burnout in high achieving woman
What is high functioning anxiety?
High functioning anxiety is a sneaky type of anxiety. It often goes unrecognised, because of its high functioning nature.
On the surface, you appear together, grounded and in control.
You overachieve at work, and are often admired for your hard-work, commitment, and attention to detail.
You have a successful career and seem to have an incredible ability to juggle a high level role with the demands of everyday life.
You seem to 'have it all'.
But it comes at a cost.
Underneath the polished surface, you are fuelled by a relentless undercurrent of stress and anxiety.
While a part of you is enjoying the success and accolades you rightly deserve, there is also a part of you who feels exhausted, depleted and unfulfilled.
Self-doubt and anxiety become constant companions as your inner imposter gets louder and you wonder when you will be found out…
Keeping up the perfect facade and working so incredibly hard in every area of your life to be seen, appreciated and valued begins to erode your sense of who you are … which further fuels the cycle.
This used to be me. And it is so many of the women I meet and support.
It's no surprise that high functioning anxiety often leads to burnout as our resources dwindle and we are left exhausted, unfulfilled, and wondering if this is all there is, despite our accomplishments.
So how can we prevent and recover from burnout before it’s too late?
Breaking the cycle before it’s too late means understanding and addressing its origin. It’s important to take an approach that isn’t limited to mindset work, but also encompasses our body and our nervous system. This means:
Befriending our nervous system, learning to recognise our state moment to moment, and practising key skills to regulate, and come back to our ‘homebase’, where we experience a sense of inner balance.
Working somatically, through the body, to understand the root of the unconscious patterns that are driving us to push ourselves beyond our limits and to stay stuck in repeating cycles of chronic stress and burnout. This can be tender work, and needs to be done in a safe, trauma-informed and supportive space.
Tending to the parts of us who are exhausted, depleted, and need to be seen and acknowledged
Redefining success in this season of our life, and committing to a vision for our life that places wellbeing at its heart.
Depending on where we are in our nervous system and how much capacity we have, our journey will look unique and different. Because our experiences and the context within which we each live is unique.
We often think that burnout recovery starts with taking actions to create change - but the truth is that we simply don't have the emotional, mental or physical capacity to do so when we are slipping into burnout.
Our journey to burnout recovery starts with our nervous system, and involves:
Nurturing our nervous system through self-regulation.
Completing stress cycles and somatically releasing the stress debt our body holds.
Prioritising deep rest on a physical, mental and emotional level.
Reconnecting with inner resources and drawing on outer resources
As we restore our inner foundation we can begin to take purposeful action such as addressing our stress triggers, and setting compassionate boundaries to protect our time, energy and capacity.
Creating self-sustaining routines for long term wellbeing.
And doing the inner work to uncover the unconscious patterns that are keeping us stuck in cycles of stress and burnout.
If you are feeling overwhelmed, stressed, and feel like you have been operating 'beyond capacity' for a while, it's time to tend to your inner foundation - so you can begin to restore a sense of balance.
If you are curious about how somatic coaching could help you find more grounding, balance and wellbeing so you can live and lead with less stress, more ease, and flow, please fill in this brief form and we will be in touch.
