High-functioning anxiety is a colloquial term people may use to describe themselves and their emotions. It’s not actually a defined or recognized medical diagnosis. Symptoms, such as attention to detail and high achieving, are more aligned with sub-clinical anxiety. High-functioning anxiety typically means you have anxiety symptoms but manage well in day-to-day life.1

Some people with anxiety may feel so overwhelmed that they avoid daily activities. Anxiety generally causes high levels of stress and worry. You may develop physical symptoms like a rapid heartbeat, restlessness, and sweating.2

What Is High-Functioning Anxiety?

Anxiety disorders are a very common mental health concern: About 20% of adults have some type of anxiety. Some people may have high-functioning anxiety.3

High-functioning anxiety is not an official medical diagnosis. It usually describes someone who has high levels of stress and worry but functions day-to-day, which may be more aligned with sub-clinical anxiety.

Anxiety disorders generally cause feelings of fear or dread. You may have physical symptoms like a rapid heartbeat, restlessness, and sweating. These symptoms may be so overwhelming in people with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) that they avoid daily activities.2 They may go undiagnosed in people with high-functioning anxiety, who don’t typically appear outwardly stressed.