On TikTok, you will find hundreds of thousands of users self-diagnosing themselves using the term “high-functioning” – high-functioning anxiety, high-functioning depression, high-functioning autism.
The term “high functioning” is just not actually clinical, but generally refers to individuals who perform well at work and faculty. So if someone suffers from high-functioning depression, it means they’re doing great at their job despite poor mental health.
After the pandemic, when depression and anxiety levels skyrocketed, people became more aware of the fact that you may be depressed or anxious and still be excellent in some areas of your life, says Irina Gorelik, a psychologist at Williamsburg Therapy Group.
“After Covid, the focus on mental health has become much greater,” he says. “And people are much more aware of signs that may have been subtle in the past.”
While the concept of a high-functioning person with depression or anxiety is just not recent, our recent obsession with the term is. Experts imagine this will signal a change in our beliefs about mental health.
you “mask” your problems with high performance
Gorelik compares high-functioning tendencies to masking. The person will work very hard in the office to cover his poor mental state.
“You’re masking something you have problems with with efficiency,” he says. “You can maintain basic aspects of your life without people noticing significant changes, but it takes much more mental effort to maintain such high performance.”
Saying you are “high-functioning” also signals that you might have economic value to society, says John T. Maier, a psychotherapist in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
“When people say ‘high-functioning,’ they don’t mean, ‘I’m great at raising a family,’ or ‘I’m great at going to church,'” he says. “It means, ‘I’m doing great at work.'”
Historically, admitting to having mental health problems may suggest problems keeping a job or doing well in class. The increase in use of the term shows that individuals are rethinking what depression or anxiety looks like.
“It suggests that you are different in some way from people with that label,” he says.
