Why There Is No Such Thing As High Functioning Stress

Updated on October 15th, 2025

AD | High-functioning stress is the new trendy buzzword. It has become increasingly popular for people to refer to their stress management abilities as high-functioning stress. They describe it as a state in which they are under a lot of pressure but able to cope and function. 

Being high-functioning does not mean that you have developed stronger coping strategies. On the contrary, being high-functioning is another way of saying that you do not let anybody know how much stress affects you. Therefore, it is not a coping but a masking skill. More importantly, it does not remove the main issue, which is the vast amount of stress you are experiencing. 

Unfortunately, high-functioning strategies are the result of a workplace culture that prioritizes stress coping rather than stress reduction. Candidates applying for roles are frequently asked to describe how they perform under stress. It goes without saying, generations of high-functioning stressed individuals are now suffering in silence. This has to stop. 

High Stress Contributes to Mental Health Issues

A little stress has never hurt anyone. 

This statement is something that many hear while growing up, whether as a child or a young adult in their first role. Parents, mentors, recruiters, trainers, and sometimes even teachers may accidentally plant in your mind the idea that stress is not harmful. 

In reality, the conviction that stress is something that makes one stronger and more effective can have some element of truth. Experiencing stress when starting a new job or position or meeting a challenge at work can be good. However, it is never just a little stress. A little stress without a support system becomes a lot of stress, which can gradually develop into extreme anxiety. Individuals with high-functioning stress are more likely to develop a high-functioning anxiety disorder and depression. In an effort to maintain social peace, the desire to mask one’s suffering can have dramatic consequences, as professionals providing mental health treatment can testify. 

You Develop Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms

When you constantly live under pressure, your priority is not always to get rid of stress. This would be a challenge that is far too long and complex to handle. Instead, in a constellation of recurring stress, most individuals choose solutions that can temporarily neutralize their perceptions of stress. Unfortunately, unhealthy coping mechanisms are the preferred approach because they deliver instantly what the person needs at the time. They require little effort and can make the stress disappear, even if it is only for a brief moment. 

For example, alcohol consumption is one of the most commonly seen strategies. It serves an important purpose, as while you are drinking, it blurs your perception of stress. Additionally, it can also help you fall asleep without thoughts swirling inside your mind. However, alcohol does not reduce stress levels. In fact, it increases cortisol levels. It also destroys sleep cycles, affecting your energy levels the next day. If alcohol is your go-to remedy as a self-proclaimed high-functioning stressed individual, you want to consider ways of reducing your intake gradually. This is not a coping mechanism; it is another masking strategy. You are masking your malaise from your own self. 

Stress is Isolating

Social isolation is a human experience that can affect anybody at any point in their life. Isolation is not necessarily a burden. In many cases, it can be a choice. Individuals who experience high-functioning stress are prone to seek social isolation as a protective mechanism. By reducing interactions with others, they can reduce stress factors. They also do not have to worry about masking their emotional malaise as much. When there is nobody to look at you, you are free to appear as stressed as you truly feel. 

Humanistic-existential theories describe different types of isolation: existential, intrapersonal, and interpersonal. Existential isolation encases a sense of disconnection between the world and oneself. While under stress, you may choose to isolate yourself from others (extrapersonal isolation) or to ignore your feelings (intrapersonal isolation). High-functioning stress is the highest form of disconnection between yourself and your existence in the world. Extreme masking is not just for the benefit of others but also for the benefit of oneself. The more you mask, the more your consciousness comes to believe that you are indeed resilient to stress. The more you buy into the idea of another self who thrives under high pressure, the more you project an incorrect image of yourself into an equally incorrect representation of the world. In the end, this behavior can cut off social connections, who cannot keep up with the new “fake” you. 

Stress Affects Your Physical Health

Did you know that stress is the number one silent killer in the modern world? It can wreak havoc on your body in more than one way. 

High-functioning stress can increase your blood pressure. While temporary stress usually does not have long-term consequences, long-lasting stress will contribute to an abnormal heart rate, hypertension, and heart palpitations. In the long term, it can also weaken your heart, making you more vulnerable to cardiovascular diseases and strokes. 

Additionally, high cortisol levels (the stress hormone) are linked with obesity, diabetes, digestive problems, a weakened immune system, and even cognitive decline. Indeed, cortisol can affect essential bodily functions. It also decreases sleep quality, which in turn can increase cortisol production, creating a vicious circle of stress. 

You are Low-Functioning

You may want to describe yourself as high-functioning, but in reality, stress affects your performance for the worse. Constant high-stress levels decrease your concentration and attention to detail. As a result, you are more likely to make mistakes. As mistakes can lead to added stress, you can find it hard to escape from this man-made prison and improve your professional performance. 

Loss of focus is not just common. It can spread through your cognitive functions like a disease. You pay less attention to detail at first. But gradually, you might notice that your mind finds it also harder to come up with strategic plans, creative thoughts, or even rational thinking. This means that not only your work may contain more mistakes, but it may also become more irrational. Your work does not meet its goals anymore, but your mind is not even able to tell the difference anymore. 

High-functioning stress is an aberration. Stress in small and manageable quantities can be a healthy boost. Nevertheless, stress at the level most companies expect you to overcome is unhealthy, harmful, and counterproductive. If you are even tempted to describe yourself as high functioning, it is time to take a step back and focus on your mental health. 

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Have you described yourself as high-functioning when it comes to managing stress? How do you cope with stress?