{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"What Works","title":"EP 280: Thriving With High Functioning Anxiety With The Happier Approach Host Nancy Smith","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2376,"description":"\n\n\n\n\nIn This Episode:\n\n\n\n* How licensed professional counselor & therapeutic coach Nancy Jane Smith learned to navigate high-functioning anxiety while building her business* How high-functioning anxiety differs from our usual concept of what anxiety “looks like”* The strategies Nancy uses to help herself (and her clients) deal with HFA* Which of the 3 voices in her head Nancy uses to guide her action and keep moving forward\n\n\n\n\n\nCan we talk about anxiety?\n\n\n\nEven if you don’t think of yourself as having anxiety or dealing with anxiety, there’s a good chance you’ve felt pretty anxious over the last 2 months.\n\n\n\nI’ve been calling it ambient anxiety.\n\n\n\nIt’s just in the air.\n\n\n\nEverything is in flux. Nothing is in our control. Everyone is on edge.\n\n\n\nIt’s just really hard to get a solid handle on what’s going on a day to day or even hour by hour basis.\n\n\n\nYour response to all of this ambient anxiety might be to slow down—even shut down. You might feel numb or a bit panicked. You might have trouble concentrating or find yourself caught up in worry.\n\n\n\nThat’s a very normal, very understandable response.\n\n\n\nBut it’s not the only way that anxiety can manifest.\n\n\n\nThe other way anxiety makes itself known doesn’t even look much like what we think of when we think anxiety.\n\n\n\nAnd that’s how I initially responded to the anxiety of our present moment.\n\n\n\nThis month on the show, we’ve been talking about finding support as an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship can be a lonely endeavor and the mental health challenges that many of us face don’t make it any easier to feel like you’re not alone.\n\n\n\nWhich leads me back to how I found myself quote-unquote coping with my anxiety a few weeks ago…\n\n\n\nInstead of shutting down, I turned on. I worked long, hyper-productive days. I created new things. I hosted live events. I checked in with friends and supported our members and clients.\n\n\n\nMy anxiety led me to over-functioning. My subconscious was trying to work my way through the stress and...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/AmfGeDL96-fhMaeOcqmX7TK_eWrvTLco6OJj2QpZtZI/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS80NGUx/OWY5ZDg1M2E5MmU3/ZjEwOWVmNDM3MWVh/ZjZlOS5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}