How Can I Help My Partner With Anxiety? 7 Keys To Face It

Deal with anxiety consistently can be difficult for anyone. In fact, this disorder can cause people to be constantly influenced by a pattern of negative thoughts, worries, or a persistent fear of certain situations. That is to say, suffering from an anxiety disorder can end up altering almost all aspects of our lives.

However, in many cases, these disorders not only cause difficulties for the person who suffers from anxiety, on some occasions they can also end up putting a lot of pressure on the closest relationships, especially in the case of the romantic partner. So what can we do to Help a couple who suffers from anxiety?

How does anxiety affect a couple?

If you couple is suffering from anxiety this may involve the following:

• Changes in mood, greater sadness: A person with anxiety may have a lot of variation in their mood due to the symptoms associated with this disorder. Therefore, this may indicate that your emotional state is very variable.
• Less social life: People who suffer from anxiety often avoid social events and this can cause difficulties if the partner values ​​spending more time with others.
• Loss of interest: Anxiety can also end up making people not allow themselves time to enjoy themselves. This may include stopping spending quality time with your partner.
• Indecision and irritability: Another symptom of anxiety is the inability to choose correctly. Not being able to make decisions, people can become irascible because of it.
• Not being in the present: When a person suffers from anxiety it may seem like they are not in the here and now. This implies that it can have absent behavior in many situations.
• Lack of interest in sex: Another factor that can be a sign that someone is experiencing an anxiety disorder is a lack of interest in anything related to sex.
• Frustration: Those who suffer from anxiety may become frustrated because they feel like they are not achieving what they are after because they are taking on too much.

These may be some of the signs that may indicate that a person is experiencing an anxiety disorder. If you feel that your partner suffers from many of them, it is important that you recommend that they see a mental health professional.

How can I help my partner with anxiety?

Helping a couple deal with anxiety it can be very difficult. Some of the ways you can support them are the following:

1. Research about anxiety: It is very likely that your partner does not know that he is experiencing an anxiety disorder or that many of the behaviors he has are associated with this disorder. For this reason, a good way to help a partner with anxiety is precisely by researching what it means to have anxiety. In addition, this information will be very useful to understand how anxiety affects you and what you can do together to alleviate its symptoms.
2. Recognize the signs of anxiety: Anxiety can manifest itself in many ways, so there is a wide range of symptoms that can affect depending on one situation or another. If your partner suffers from anxiety, it is crucial to analyze when the signs of this disorder occur. That is, try to prevent anxiety from stopping them from doing things they really want.
3. Validate their feelings: Validation is essential in the face of any type of disorder. That is, simply acknowledging what your partner is feeling or experiencing will help them feel understood instead of judged. This does not mean agreeing with their perception of situations, although it will help you connect more with your partner. The key is not to minimize your feelings.
4. Don’t try to fix everything: Although it can be very tempting to try to help the person find solutions, this approach usually does not work. It is very likely that the person feels that you are only trying to minimize their problems or that you do not see them capable of achieving it on their own. This attitude will only make your relationship worse, since your partner will feel that you treat him or her as someone incapable or inferior. Instead of trying to solve their problems, it is better to listen carefully and show that you support them.
5. Prioritize your communication: One of the aspects that you should take into account if your partner suffers from anxiety is communication. The reason is that lack of communication can cause many difficulties in any type of relationship, therefore, it is important to prioritize this factor. True communication involves both parties listening to each other and seeking to understand each other.
6. Set limits: Living with a partner who suffers from anxiety can be challenging. However, it is important to remember that loving the person does not mean that you leave aside your own needs. Therefore, a crucial part of helping both your partner and yourself is precisely establishing healthy boundaries within the relationship. This is essential when introducing unhealthy codependent dynamics into the relationship.
7. Encourage them to seek professional help: Your job is not to try to fix your partner’s problems. In fact, someone who suffers from an anxiety disorder ultimately needs professional help to learn how to manage the symptoms of it. Therefore, it is important that you encourage your partner to go to therapy.

The Anxiety can wreak havoc on any relationship, but, although it represents a challenge, it is a situation that with effort and work can be overcome. The key is to understand this disorder and support the person to seek professional help.