High-Functioning Anxiety at Work (And How to Work With It)
You’re the one everyone turns to because you always get things done. You double-check every detail. You prep for the meeting like it’s a final exam. You’ve got color-coded to-do lists, backup plans, and notes on everyone’s communication style. You’re the undisputed QUEEN of being Type-A. Look at you.
From the outside? You look like you’ve got it all together.
On the inside? You’re buzzing. Wired. Exhausted. And always bracing for something to go wrong.
Welcome to high-functioning anxiety. It’s incredibly common and incredibly misunderstood.
Here’s the good news: your anxiety isn’t something you need to “fix” before you can lead. You just need to learn how to lead with it, not in spite of it.
What High-Functioning Anxiety Can Look Like
You overprepare for everything—and then replay it all afterward, just in case you missed something.
You say yes too much because disappointing people feels unbearable.
You struggle to turn your brain off, even when the workday ends.
You constantly worry you’re not doing enough, even when you’re doing more than most.
It’s not laziness. It’s not drama. It’s your nervous system trying to keep you safe by controlling the uncontrollable.
The Hidden Strengths
Let’s be clear: your anxiety isn’t just a liability. There are strengths here, too.
You’re deeply attuned to risk.
You anticipate needs before they’re spoken.
You care—sometimes too much, but still, you care.
You take your responsibilities seriously.
The goal isn’t to shut those things down. The goal is to harness them without letting them run the show.
How to Lead With High-Functioning Anxiety
1. Notice the Spiral Before It Spins
The trick isn’t to stop anxious thoughts from showing up—it’s to notice when they do. That moment you start rereading the same email for the fourth time? That’s your cue. That wave of dread before a simple status meeting? Another cue.
Start tracking your patterns. What triggers your overthinking? When does your perfectionism kick in? Is it a certain kind of feedback? A particular type of meeting? Just noticing these moments can give you a split second of space to choose something else.
You’re not trying to eliminate the spiral. You’re trying to catch it before it picks up speed. Even one deep breath, one shift in perspective, one moment of “Wait, do I need to panic right now?”—that’s a win. That’s how you start taking your power back.
2. Set Boundaries That Serve You
Anxiety thrives in ambiguity. It will take every undefined moment and turn it into a worst-case scenario factory.
That’s why boundaries are essential—not just to protect your time, but to quiet the constant background noise. Get clear on your working hours. On how long you’ll spend in meetings. On which messages can wait until tomorrow.
And when you set those boundaries? Name them out loud. Let your team know what you need. Ask what they need too. People will respect your boundaries as long as they know what they are. And if they don’t, come talk to us and we’ll sort that out with you RIGHT QUICK. :)
You don’t have to be perfect. You just have to be consistent enough that your nervous system starts to feel safer. Boundaries aren’t about pushing people away. They’re about giving yourself room to breathe.
3. Learn to Say, “That’s Good Enough”
This one’s hard. Especially if you’ve been rewarded your whole life for being the one who goes above and beyond. But at a certain point, that drive for perfection becomes a trap. It’s not about quality anymore. It’s about control. And it’s exhausting.
Practice choosing done over perfect. Especially on things that don’t actually need to be flawless. That Slack message doesn’t need a rewrite. That deck doesn’t need five more fonts. That one mistake in a footnote isn’t going to tank the whole launch.
Ask yourself: Will this change the outcome? Does it serve the goal? Or am I doing this to soothe a sense of “not enough” that no amount of edits will fix?
Sometimes “good enough” is the most generous thing you can give yourself. Let that be enough.
4. Talk About It (Yes, Really)
You don’t have to perform your anxiety. You don’t have to share it in every meeting or lead with it in every intro.
But you do need people who know the real you. Who you can text when your brain won’t shut up. Who you can say, “Hey, I’m spiraling a little—can you help me gut check this?”
That might be a colleague you trust, a friend who gets it, a coach who can offer perspective, or even a support group where you don’t have to explain yourself.
Talking about it won’t make it worse. It makes it manageable. Because anxiety thrives in isolation. But it shrinks in connection.
You don’t have to carry it alone. And you weren’t meant to.
Leading With Humanity
You don’t have to be calm 100% of the time to be a good leader. You don’t have to have a perfectly regulated nervous system or flawless work-life balance.
You just need self-awareness. You need tools. And you need the willingness to show up anyway.
Leading with high-functioning anxiety means leading with empathy. With diligence. With care. It means knowing how to channel your intensity into something useful—without letting it hollow you out.
You’re not broken. You’re a human with a powerful brain that sometimes runs a little hot. Let’s work with that.
At The Threadsmith Group, we work with leaders who feel like they’re holding it all together on the outside but could use some support on the inside. If you’re ready to lead without white-knuckling your way through the week, we’re ready to help.