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teejai said:
Sometimes the degree of 'higher functioning' can be deceptively illusory though especially if you fall into the situation of being perceived as 'highly intelligent' and yet within that you have specific cognitive difficulties that tend to get dismissed or overlooked but which impact negatively on your ability to cope with and perform in certain situations

Often people look at your generalised intelligence and see you as being more able to 'function' and do things than you actually can.
The problem being that you then don't get much help to be more functional and end up being perceived as passive aggressive and lazy if you fail to match up to expectations; which in turn makes you feel more frustrated and lacking in self esteem.

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So, if I might, I'd like to summarize this as saying "smart people hide their anxiety better, seem more capable, and subsequently don't get the same level of attention/care." Is that what you're saying?

If so, I get that. I'm known for my intelligence, creativity, and communication skills. So to the world, and to mental health professionals, I usually seem to be functioning better than I really am. It's tough and so I work hard to make my therapist aware of this problem by saying things like, "just because I articulate my thoughts well doesn't mean I don't feel crippled by them" or "it's safe to assume I'm usually only showing about a tenth of what I'm actually feeling." This helps because my therapist then knows that I'm minimizing everything to get by.

But you should also appreciate that your intelligence is a great strength and it is helping you get by. Imagine how much worse your life would be without that asset. Try to be grateful for it and disclose what you need to in order to get the care you need.

Cyran0