High Functioning Anxiety: Signs, Symptoms, and Solutions + How to Silence Your Inner Critic, Overcome Perfectionism and People-pleasing, and Avoid Burnout with Therapist Nancy Jane Smith

We all know those people that are always on the go: they never seem to rest, they are always busy doing something and they seem to accomplish so much. Perhaps you are one of those people! But did you know that this could also be a sign of high-functioning anxiety? In this podcast, I speak to therapist and licensed counselor Nancy Jane Smith about the signs and symptoms of high-functioning anxiety and how to overcome it, as well as how to deal with perfectionism, people-pleasing and avoid burnout.

High functioning anxiety is a form of anxiety that you won’t get diagnosed with, but it is similar to generalized anxiety, and also involves gastro symptoms, headaches, panic attacks, racing thoughts and so on. It is essentially a way of coping that pushes you harder and faster, which often leads to perfectionism, people-pleasing and burnout. On the outside everything may look great, but, on the inside, everything is falling apart, which is why high functioning anxiety is so hard to recognize. In fact, a lot of people aren’t aware that you don’t have to live with this kind of “hustle, hustle, hustle” mentality this because they do not share how they feel with the people in their lives.

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Podcast Highlights

2:24 How Nancy’s dad felt like a failure, and how his inner critic affected his final moments

4:30 Why some people are driven by their inner critic, and how it leads to high functioning anxiety

7:36 How do you recognize high-functioning anxiety?

10:42 Perfectionism and high-functioning anxiety

12:22 How is high-functioning anxiety different to generalized anxiety?

14:14 Our different inner voices: who are you listening to?

18:56 Tips to deal with our inner critic

25:40 How positive thinking can exacerbate high-functioning anxiety

36:00 How to speak to a friend or loved one with high-functioning anxiety

Read the episode blog and transcript here: https://drleaf.com/blogs/news/high-functioning-anxiety-signs-symptoms-and-solutions-how-to-silence-your-inner-critic-overcome-perfectionism-and-people-pleasing-and-avoid-burnout-with-therapist-nancy-jane-smith

For more info on Nancy and to get her book or sign up for her coaching program visit: https://live-happier.com/about/

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