Thank you for discussing this important topic, I didn’t know there was a term for high functioning anxiety, but it certainly describes a good portion of how I functioned, until a similar intrusive thought to the one you had, was a wake-up call I needed to get help.

And, I experienced something like you did. When I asked to work part-time to relieve my stress levels, my boss made jokes about it, finally decided to do it (only after I said I would quit and go elsewhere to take care of my health), then he fired me four months later for underperforming, when I had been one of his top selling managers the year before. Of course getting fired brought up so much anxiety, it was also the best thing that happened to me. I ended up taking six months off, resting and prioritizing my self care for the first time in my life, addressed my mental and physical health with a therapist, doctors and through spiritual practice.

Now my life is so much better - yet I still have to be aware of my ingrained inner pusher, high achiever who wants to keep doing one more thing, maybe to prove I still can?

I’m in a period of my life when I’m cultivating the desire to not have to prove anything, any more…