High-functioning anxiety is silent. It looks like: overachievement constant productivity being the “strong one” perfectionism being reliable and capable But internally, it feels like: pressure tightness overwhelm racing thoughts fear of disappointing others People with high-functioning anxiety rarely ask for help because they’ve trained themselves to cope alone. Why High-Functioning Anxiety Is So Exhausting Because you’re constantly performing: “I’m okay.” “I’ve got this.” “I can handle it.”...

I have a client who claimed that because she did not smoke a packet a day, she did not even think of herself as a “real smoker.” For you perhaps it is one cigarette with coffee, one during a stressful moment, and one later in the day. So part of you may reasonably wonder: If I only smoke three cigarettes a day, is it really worth quitting? The honest answer is that the cigarettes may not take up much time in your day, but they can still hold a surprising amount of psychological importance....

Many people don’t drink because they love alcohol, they drink because they love relief . A glass of wine becomes: a break a moment of quiet a way to soften the day a way to numb the overwhelm a way to forget anxiety for 20–30 minutes The problem isn’t your morals or discipline. The problem is your nervous system . Why Anxiety Drives Drinking When your nervous system is stuck in a high-alert state, you crave anything that brings you down quickly. Alcohol artificially: lowers your stress...