08 Feb How To Cope With Your Partner’s Anxiety
By: Margie Frisco, Practicum Student
Having trouble coping with your partner’s anxiety? In these days and times, it is easy to let the unknown bring extra anxiety to life. Anxiety affects roughly 40 million adults within the United States. Many of these individuals are in a relationship. The addition of anxiety can bring more stress to the relationship. As a partner, you might want to find ways to cope with your partner’s anxiety.
7 Ways To Cope With Your Partner’s Anxiety
Talk About It
Communicating your feelings and how their anxiety impacts the relationship can help the relationship. Keep in mind, the presentation and the tone of the conversation can sway the outcome. For example, if your partner is feeling anxious and your tone is overly assertive or resentful, it can escalate the tension. But if you have a calm and honest conversation about your feeling’s progression can be made.
Listen to Them
Listen to what your partner has to say. They could be comforted by you listening to them. This could alleviate some of their anxious tendencies. Sometimes when a person is anxious, their feelings might sound different, irrational, or not accurate. Just being the sounding board to their talking can help.
Have Some Compassion
When you partner is suffering from anxiety, have some compassion for them. They might need a shoulder to lean on. As a partner, try to be that for them. This will let them feel that they can turn to you when they are feeling anxious. This can also help validate their feelings and make your partner feel more relaxed.
Be Aware of Your Reactions
Try not to take their anxiety personally. In many cases, if your partner is feeling anxious it might not be due to something you have done. It could be completely something within them. Overreacting and blowing up the situation could make the situation worse for you and your partner.
Set Boundaries
Setting boundaries can be a way to let your partner know what you can and cannot handle. It is okay to let them know that you might not feel comfortable or ready to cope with their anxiety fully. Let them know that certain boundaries are meant to be kept, even during anxious and stressful times.
Take Time for Self-Care
It is ok to take time for yourself to make sure you are mentally healthy. This can be exercising, spa time, reading, creating some art, or listening to music. Really whatever helps you relax. You can even invite your partner!
Go to Therapy
Sometimes your partner’s anxiety can be hard to deal with. It is okay to feel that you might need someone to talk to about their anxiety. This will allow you to process any feelings about their anxiety instead of resentful feelings beginning because of ignoring your own needs.
Begin Couples Counseling in Katy, TX
If you are ready to let go of things you cannot control, Cheri can help! She provides counseling to individual men, women, and couples. To begin counseling in Katy, TX follow these three steps:
- Contact the office to set up an appointment or to get more information about counseling for anxiety and couples.
- Meet with Cheri.
- Find ways to improve your relationship!
Other Therapy Services
Cheri offers counseling services for adult individuals including: anxiety treatment, depression treatment, relationship help, and divorce recovery. She specializes in couples therapy and helps with specific issues such as: infidelity, intimacy and sexual health, and parenting. Cheri strives to regularly post blogs with helpful information on a variety of mental health topics. To learn more about Cheri and her counseling services, please contact Locke Counseling and Consulting today!