High-Functioning Anxiety: When You Look Fine but Feel Overwhelmed Insideby Fallon Panetta, MSFrom the outside, everything may look together. You show up. You meet deadlines. You care for others. You handle responsibilities. But internally, it can feel very different. High-functioning anxiety is often hidden beneath achievement and capability. Many people who experience it are described as dependable, organized, motivated, or successful. Yet beneath that competence, there may be constant worry, mental tension, and difficulty truly relaxing. What is High-Functioning Anxiety?High-functioning anxiety is a term used to describe living with ongoing anxiety while still managing daily responsibilities. Unlike anxiety that visibly interferes with work or relationships, high-functioning anxiety can exist quietly in the background. Because things are getting done, it may not be recognized as anxiety at all. In many cases, it becomes part of how someone identifies themselves.  Common Signs of High-Functioning AnxietyHigh-functioning anxiety may look like: • Overthinking conversations long after they end • Difficulty turning off your thoughts at night • Feeling restless during downtime • Keeping constant mental to do lists • Fear of disappointing others • Saying yes when you want to say no • Irritability beneath a calm exterior • A strong need for control to reduce uncertainty • Trouble relaxing even during breaks or vacations Many people describe feeling driven by anxiety. Productivity can feel like the only way to quiet the worry. Why High-Functioning Anxiety can be Hard to RecognizeBecause responsibilities are being handled, anxiety may feel justified or even necessary. You might think: “I just care a lot.” “I work better under pressure.” “This is just how I’ve always been.” When anxiety fuels performance, it can feel productive. Over time, however, constantly operating in a heightened state of alert can be exhausting. What is the Role of the Nervous System in High-Functioning Anxiety?Our nervous system is designed to protect us. When it senses a threat, it activates a stress response. For someone with high-functioning anxiety, that response may stay slightly activated most of the time. Even when there is no immediate danger, the body can feel on edge. This may show up as: • Muscle tension • Headaches • Digestive discomfort • Fatigue • Difficulty sleeping • Feeling guilty when resting Living in a near constant state of alert can quietly impact emotional and physical well being.  What is the Cost of High-Functioning Anxiety?While high-functioning anxiety can lead to achievement, it often comes at a cost: • Difficulty being fully present • Perfectionism and self criticism • Strained relationships • Burnout • Emotional overwhelm beneath composure You can appear capable and still feel overwhelmed. Both experiences can exist at the same time. Gentle Ways to Begin Shifting with High-Functioning AnxietyIf you recognize yourself in this pattern, small changes can support your nervous system and emotional health. Practice intentional pauses. Even a few minutes of slow breathing can signal safety to your body. Notice what is driving your productivity. Are you acting from inspiration or from fear? Experiment with saying no in low stakes situations. Boundaries can reduce internal pressure. Remind yourself that your worth is not tied to output. Rest is not something you earn. It is something your body needs. Allow space for good enough. Perfection is often anxiety in disguise.  When to Consider Therapy for High-Functioning AnxietyIf anxiety feels persistent, exhausting, or begins to affect sleep, mood, relationships, or health, therapy can help. In therapy, you can explore the roots of your anxiety, patterns of perfectionism or people pleasing, and ways to regulate your nervous system more effectively. You can learn how to set boundaries and motivate yourself from a place of steadiness rather than pressure. High-functioning anxiety is common, and support is available. You do not have to wait until things feel unmanageable to seek help. If anxiety is impacting your well being, our clinicians are here to support you. Contact us through our website or by calling our office to learn more about how therapy can help. Fallon Panetta, MS, is Healing & Growth Counseling's Intake Specialist. Interested in learning more about services to address high-functioning anxiety? Call us at (516) 406-8991.
Interested in scheduling an appointment? Travel Anxiety: When the Desire to Go Meets the Fear to Leaveby Candyce Young, MS, MHC-LPFor many people, travel represents freedom, joy, and connection. For others, it brings a familiar knot in the stomach, racing thoughts, and the urge to cancel plans at the last minute. Travel anxiety is more common than we talk about—and it doesn’t mean you’re weak, ungrateful, or “bad at relaxing.” It means your nervous system is trying (sometimes clumsily) to keep you safe. What is Travel Anxiety?Travel anxiety is the intense worry, fear, or physical discomfort that shows up before or during travel. It can be triggered by flying, driving long distances, staying in unfamiliar places, or even planning the trip itself. Some common experiences include:
Travel anxiety isn’t about the destination—it’s about uncertainty, loss of control, and perceived danger.  Why is my Anxiety so Bad when I Travel?From a therapeutic lens, travel anxiety often stems from:
What are the Symptoms of Travel Anxiety?When anxiety kicks in, your body may enter fight-or-flight mode. This can feel like:
 What are Effective Strategies for Managing Travel Anxiety?1. Prepare Without Over-PreparingAnxiety thrives on uncertainty, but too much planning can keep it alive. Helpful prep includes:
2. Regulate Your Nervous SystemTravel can activate the body’s threat response. Gentle regulation helps signal safety. Effective techniques:
3. Use Distraction With IntentionDistraction works best when it’s purposeful, not avoidant. Good options:
4. Use AffirmationsTherapist-approved travel anxiety affirmations are another great tool—designed to calm the nervous system without pretending fear doesn’t exist. You can save these, screenshot them, or repeat one at a time as needed. 🌿 Reassurance & Safety
✈️ Coping & Capability
🌬️ Nervous System Grounding
🧠 Letting Go of Control
🤍 Self-Compassion
🌱 Growth & Meaning
5. Meditation Apps to Reduce My Travel Anxiety?🧘♀️ Why Meditation Apps Help With Travel Anxiety - Travel anxiety is a body-based stress response, not a thinking problem. Meditation apps are another great tool that can help by:
Meditation works best proactively, not only in crisis. ✈️ Ideal moments to use it:
Common Mistakes to Avoid
 When to Seek SupportTravel anxiety doesn’t mean you’re incapable—it means your system needs reassurance, safety, and patience. With support, skills, and self-compassion, it’s possible to travel with anxiety instead of being controlled by it. If travel anxiety is limiting your life, therapy can help. Modalities such as CBT, ACT, exposure therapy, and nervous system–informed approaches can reduce symptoms and increase confidence. You don’t have to “just push through” alone. About the AuthorMy name is Candyce Young, a mental health clinician who specializes in anxiety, nervous system regulation, and trauma-informed care. With a compassionate approach, that helps clients understand the why behind their anxiety while building practical tools to feel safer in their bodies and more confident in their lives.
My work is rooted in the belief that anxiety is not a personal flaw, but a protective response that deserves curiosity, patience, and care. I am passionate about helping clients who feel limited by anxiety reclaim a sense of freedom, choice, and self-trust. Through therapy, writing, and psychoeducation, I aim to normalize your human experience and help empower you. Managing Anxiety During the Holidaysby Heather DeGuire, MS, MHC-LPAnxiety symptoms are characterized by a feeling of overwhelming sense of worry and concern. The holidays sometimes trigger or amplify anxiety symptoms, especially for those without financial stability or those receiving pressure to attend social gatherings. The holidays could trigger an increase in frequency and duration of anxiety symptoms because of what the holiday means to the person. Some people are not affected by the holidays because they don’t have a negative experience attached to it, whereas some individuals find it hard to regulate their emotions or decrease their intrusive anxious thoughts triggered from the holidays because of their own traumatic experiences related to the holiday. What Causes Anxiety During the Holidays?There are many reasons that could result in someone feeling stressed during the holidays that increases a person’s anxiety symptoms. Some scenarios that affect people during the holidays could be someone who has lost a parent, a child that has passed away, a relative aging and unable to travel alone, or the loss of a friend/companion. The holidays can also be difficult for parents because of their expectations that the holiday should be perfect for their children. It is important to find a way of letting go of "perfect" and enjoying the moment with your family, because memories are not planned, they are created in the moment. Anxiety symptoms triggered from the holidays are sometimes intensified by a person’s lack of family, social support, or financial stability.  How Can I Cope with Holiday Anxiety?Coping with anxiety is unique to each person and looks different for everyone. Some ways to cope with anxiety symptoms triggered during the holidays could look like engaging in self-care or using cognitive reframing strategies. Read on for some ideas to utilize this holiday season: How to use Socratic Questioning to decrease holiday anxietyA form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) that can help you to cope with anxiety symptoms is Socratic Questioning techniques. This skill helps to challenge the maladaptive thoughts triggered during the holidays and replaces them with rational thoughts. This skill can help you to change the way that you view a difficult situation that emerges during the holidays. Here's an example: Someone who is really anxious about the holidays might be focused on thinking about there being so much to do and not being able to handle all of it. They can question themselves with "What would happen if everything isn't done perfectly?" to which they might respond with "People would get disappointed." Questionning can continue - "Do people care more about perfection or about having fun spending time together?" This can help this person to recognize that people are more interested in spending time together than everthing being perfect. How to use self care to decrease holiday anxietySome self-care tips to help manage anxiety symptoms during the holidays could be to stay organized and commit to a plan, create your own holiday traditions, make space for feelings of grief when they arise, and keep stress levels at a minimal by delegating or taking space for yourself as needed. Another coping strategy to help manage anxiety symptoms during the holidays could look like journaling what makes you feel anxious. This will help identify and challenge insecurities directly.  How to use mindfulness to decrease holiday anxietyFinding mindfulness activities during the holidays will help you stay focused in the present moment and connect with loved ones during the holidays. It is important during this stressful time to learn to treat yourself with love and kindness as you navigate through the difficulties that arise throughout the holidays. A simple mindfulness exercise can be to sit with something that you can enjoy with your senses. For example, a cup of coffee or tea - sit and notice everything about it, including the smell, the warmth of the mug (make sure it isn't too hot!), the sight of the steam coming off of it, and the taste of it as you drink it. Mindfulness can also be used while attending holiday events. Rather than focusing on everything going as planned, zoom in on the fun that is being had. This may include a game that children are playing, laughter amongst your family, or sitting quietly watching snow fall. There is beauty in so many moments that, should we allow ourselves to focus on it, can help us to feel content and at peace. About the AuthorHeather DeGuire, MHC-LP, is a clinician at Healing & Growth Counseling, providing in person counseling to clients located in the Massapequa Park area, as well as online therapy to clients located across the state of New York. Heather strongly believes in teaching clients coping skills that can be incorporated into their daily lives. As the holidays approach each year, she finds that many of her clients express increased stress and anxiety, which inspired her to write this blog post. Heather finds the skills that she has shared here to be great during the holidays and at all times of year! Interested in learning more about Heather? Read her bio here. Interested in scheduling an appointment with Heather? Call us at (516) 406-8991 or fill out our Contact Form here.
Grounding 101by Sarah Mohan, MS, CRC, MHC-LP, CVE, WIP-CAnxiety is a feeling most people have experienced at least once in their life. When anxiety strikes, it can take over us completely, and take us completely out of our element. Grounding is a skill that can be used to help bring us back into a space of awareness that reduces feelings of anxiety, The 5-4-3-2-1 grounding exercise is a mindfulness technique that helps people manage stress and anxiety by focusing on the present moment. It involves using all five senses to observe the environment around you: 5: Acknowledge FIVE things you see around you. It could be a pen, a spot on the ceiling, anything in your surroundings. 4: Acknowledge FOUR things you can touch around you. It could be your hair, a pillow, or the ground under your feet. 3: Acknowledge THREE things you hear. This could be any external sound. If you can hear your belly rumbling that counts! Focus on things you can hear outside of your body. 2: Acknowledge TWO things you can smell. Maybe you are in your office and smell pencil, or maybe you are in your bedroom and smell a pillow. If you need to take a brief walk to find a scent you could smell soap in your bathroom, or nature outside. 1: Acknowledge ONE thing you can taste. What does the inside of your mouth taste like—gum, coffee, or the sandwich from lunch?  The 5-4-3-2-1 technique can help people: Redirect AttentionBy engaging multiple senses, the technique helps people focus on the present and avoid anxious thoughts. Calm the Nervous SystemThe technique interrupts the fight-or-flight response, which can reduce anxiety and stress. Become Aware of SurroundingsThe technique can help people become aware of their surroundings and feel safe. People can practice the 5-4-3-2-1 technique almost anywhere, such as at their desk, while standing in line, or while gardening. If practicing at night, people can close their eyes and visualize the five things.  About the AuthorSarah Mohan, MS, CRC, MHC-LP, CVE, WIP-C is a clinician at Healing & Growth Counseling. Sarah recognizes from her work with many clients that grounding is not always easy, and can be negatively impacted by many factors, including anxiety, depression, and past trauma. She enjoys teaching grounding tools that can add value to everyday life. She finds it rewarding when she helps clients to incorporate simple tools that make big impacts. Sarah finds grounding helpful in her own life when she feels overwhelmed, allowing her to clear her mind and organize her thoughts. Are you interested in reading more about Sarah? Read her bio here. Are you interested in scheduling an appointment for in-person or online therapy to focus on learning grounding skills and more? Call us at (516) 406-8991 or fill out a Contact Form.
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