Establishing relationships is something that happens in the lives of all people throughout our lives. There can be many types of bonds that we generate over the years and the quality of these relationships depends, in part, on our emotional and mental state.
Our state is very variable and there are many factors that can alter it. This is what happens when anxiety appears in a person’s life and they have to deal with it. This anxiety will mark the different aspects of your life, from work, self-care, family, etc… And of course, our relationships are one of the most fundamental aspects and are also affected.
What usually happens then when a person relates from anxiety?
Understanding this helps us understand to what extent a person changes when they have anxiety and thus also understand how their relationships or their way of relating can change. There are many ways that anxiety manifests itself and it can be different for each person. Some of the most common symptoms are physical, such as tachycardia, palpitations, shortness of breath, fatigue, a knot in the stomach. Also psychological, such as restlessness, overwhelm, fear, feeling of losing control or difficulty making decisions
Being on alert, blockages, difficulty concentrating, memorizing, forgetfulness, rumination… There are so many ways in which you can have anxiety that it is almost impossible not to understand that a person who is dealing with any of them feels that their relationships are affected.
Normally, the discomfort that the person with anxiety has is such that they frequently show irritability with the people around them. Difficulty starting or continuing a conversation, having difficulty paying attention and disconnecting from interactions. Also avoidance of situations in which you have to interact. Other common symptoms are:
Inevitably, this can take a toll on their relationships because the people around them do not understand what is happening to that person. Being something that cannot be seen, that cannot be seen, people tend to recriminate, judge, criticize or get angry at this type of behavior.
This, added to the lack of understanding of the situation, makes the person who suffers from anxiety feel even worse and not being able to control it or “go back to being the same person as before” makes them even more frustrated, feel more alone and increases. plus your anxiety.
Have you ever felt in this loop?
What can you do if you’ve identified with some of the things we’re talking about?
1. Be understanding with yourself in the first person
You have not chosen what is happening to you, you do not decide to be like this and beating yourself up about it will not help you.
2. Explain what is happening to you and ask for understanding around you
Explaining what is happening to you can help others understand you. You don’t have to tell all the details of what’s happening to you if you don’t feel comfortable, but make yourself understood and say what you’re going through. Many times, out of embarrassment, not knowing how to explain it or not wanting to worry others, you are dealing with this alone and the ball is bigger and heavier.
Identify your anxiety symptoms very well to normalize them and not be afraid of them when they appear. Try to see where it comes from, what situation is triggering that anxiety to get to the root. Anxiety is our body’s way of complaining about something that is not going well.
4. Work on your thoughts
They are the trigger to a very large extent of what happens to you. How you are interpreting reality, how you are turning things around, how you are seeing an almost always negative vision is putting you further and further into the loop of anxiety. Question your thoughts, rationalize them, write them down, say them out loud to hear yourself and maybe many of them will sound different to you.
5. Take care of yourself more than ever
If it is always important to take care of yourself, now even more so because the more you take care of yourself, the better you will relate to others. Taking care of yourself is taking care of your relationships too. If not, you will only accumulate discomfort that will come out in the form of more anxiety.
Do whatever you need to do to manage that anxiety. It is something that paralyzes a lot and tends to eat up more and more of the person’s ground so, little by little, step by step, but take action. The sum of small steps is what will give you the feeling of improving.
