Constant exposure to distressing news can affect our mental health. Learn why global events can create collective trauma and how to protect your wellbeing.

While not a formal diagnostic label, high-functioning anxiety describes a very real experience": feeling persistently anxious while still performing well in daily life.

And because you’re “coping”, it often goes unnoticed (by others, and sometimes to you).

If you’ve ever wondered “Why does my anxiety get worse at night?”, you’re not imagining it, and you’re certainly not alone. There are clear psychological and biological reasons this happens.

For many young adults, climate change isn’t an abstract future problem. It’s a constant background presence. It shows up in news alerts, social media feeds, conversations about housing, family, finances, and the future. For some, it brings a steady hum of unease. For others, it becomes overwhelming.

“Quiet Quitting” is often framed as a lack of motivation or commitment at work. A sign that people no longer care. A generational problem. A productivity issue.

But psychology tells a different story.

Scrolling through social media can feel strangely destabilising. one minute you’re relaxed, the next you’re comparing your life, body, career, parenting, productivity or relationships to people you barely know… and somehow coming up short.

You replay conversations long after they end.

You analyse what you said, what they said, what they might have meant.

You run through every possible outcome, scenario, or consequence, even when nothing is actually wrong.

You know the feeling.

You’re going about your day; making coffee, commuting, replying to emails, when suddenly your chest feels tight, your stomach drops, or your mind jolts into worry mode.

Sure, we can burnout from overworking ourselves, but we can also experience burnout if we feel that we have no control over our careers, if we are working towards a goal that doesn’t align with what we really want, if we lack support, and so on.

Depending on what industry you work in, there will be varying degrees of competition among colleagues. In many industries, there can be incredible competition to get jobs in the first place, and once you are in, the competition only increases. The Muse found that nearly a third of managers thought their employees were more competitive than a decade ago.