Introvert With High-Functioning Anxiety

[Gaze]

Here's an article on "15 Signs You’re an Introvert With High-Functioning Anxiety."
https://introvertdear.com/news/high-functioning-anxiety-signs-introvert/

How do you connect with some of these traits and how have you handled your anxiety? I'm asking because although I know I have anxiety, I never thought of my self as high-functioning until I read some of these traits. What's your experience with this?

 

[ReasonEnduring]

*nervous laughter*

Ah, that sounds like the last few decades of my life... Finally as I have measure of success over the past few years.

I don't handle my anxiety because bad stuff keeps happening so I keep having to prepare.

But then things keep happening but I run out of resources to prepare with but things are still happening and I still need to prepare but everyone looks to me to keep them safe so I have to keep preparing because without me everything would fall apart and people would be homeless and starving so I have do everything to keep a roof over everyones head or else decades of work will have been in vain.

Putting on a smile and pretend everything is okay?

Constantly distracting myself so I don't think of all the terrible things I'm not adequetly prepared for if they occur?

Now is not a good time for High Functioning Paranoids.

 

[Gaze]

The way I connect with this is realizing that as much as I am overwhelmed, I've become a little better at calming myself down and learning how to respond in a way that makes me seem as if I'm more in control than I am. I learned some time ago, that I can't project my worries onto others, and another lesson was learning to set boundaries to know what I could or couldn't control. Just like you said @ReasonEnduring you have these coping mechanisms you fall back on because you know you have a certain responsibility to others, and you can't default, even if you want to so you make yourself behave.

For example, I'm not always prepared but I try to be. I like planning ahead for all eventualities, and I feel almost like a failure when I miss something I should've accounted for. I'm always seeing potential threatening situations pop up because I had a negative experience with someone. I blow it up in my mind to the point where I'll see it as an an apocalyptic event. It's not as intense as it used to be, but it definitely was there like a shadow, that feeling that I'm about to mess up really badly because of the anxiety, and now they'll find me out! I'm afraid of disappointing others. That's always the case. Not sure if that will ever change and I don't think I want it to. It reminds me to always keep striving to be and do better. Yes, I do avoid certain situations or scenarios because I know myself, and how something will affect me. No one would even know it unless I say it. Yes, as many of us here, perfectionism is there. Either I'm really good at it or I'm mediocre or suck. Those are my ways of processing if I'm successful. It's totally about achieving the ideal. Rumination and overthinking are definitely there.

One thing I'm getting from this is that I'm not placing the burden of my anxiety on anyone else, because that's one of my biggest fears. As long as I'm coping well enough and set my boundaries, everything should be fine.

 

[David54]

You may be freaking out on the inside, but you’re stoic on the outside.. . they all resonate to one degree or another, but this one is the big one for me.
. ..for example. . for the past three days I sit at home crying over the death toll from the corona virus. . and I mean sobbing. .I do this over trouble in life all the time.. .to the outside world I'm just being me, everything's fine.but inside I am melting into nothingness. . except for the chattering to myself, the exhaustion. . and every other thing mentioned in the article. .The worst outcome is just a phone call or email away. .How do I keep from upsetting or not living up another's expectation of me. . it all is rather exhausting sometimes. .