The Truth About High Functioning Anxiety That Nobody Talks About

Unmasking the silent struggles behind success and composure

Image provided by the author

Last summer, I spent my fourth consecutive night staring at the ceiling, thinking about nothing else apart from why I couldn’t sleep.

I went to bed how I always did.

I stayed off my phone for an hour before, read my book before nodding off over and over again — but yet I couldn’t fall asleep once the bedside light had been turned off.

I did everything by the book.

My ‘sleep hygiene’ record was perfection. I had a cool bedroom, never went and sat on my bed for anything other than sleeping, had blue light filters on everything, and even would have a calming cup of decaffeinated tea before bed if I fancied.

But night after night, I found myself back on the leather sofa in an attempt not to disturb my fast asleep partner, staring up at the ceiling with a thousand thoughts racing through my mind.

Nothing would make the thoughts switch off. No amount of meditation, mindfulness, lack of caffeine, or sleep habits could calm my racing mind.

Eventually, I turned to my GP who promptly prescribed me mirtazapine without hesitation. The first few days of being on this were…