How Anxiety Affects Relationships
As human beings, we crave connections with each other emotionally and physically. If you struggle with anxiety, you are probably familiar with the ways that this condition can negatively affect the quality of your connections. Anxiety can be harmful to your friendships, familial attachments, and intimate relationships when left unchecked. To maintain well-rounded relationships in every aspect of your life, it is essential to develop effective healthy and coping methods for your anxiety.
What does anxiety look like?
Anxiety is an excessive or persistent worry about various aspects of your life that can last anywhere from a few minutes to a few days. This can be related to academics, finances, careers, family or have unknown causes. Anxiety symptoms will typically leave you feeling nervous, on edge, tired, as if it is hard to concentrate or that there is imminent risk.
How Does Anxiety Affect Relationships?
“My family thinks that I am incompetent”
“My partner could do so much better than me”
“My loved one is going to leave and I will be alone forever”
These negative beliefs and sometimes irrational thought patterns are created by anxiety. The constant thoughts rooted in anxiety begin to affect your emotions and behaviors resulting in overdependence, jealousy, isolation, rejection and a lack of communication. The presence of anxious responses erects barriers to intimacy and deeper connections.
Breaks trust and connections
· Preoccupation with what could happen instead of what is happening
· Needing constant reassurance or becoming clingy
Creates procrastination and tension
· You may find yourself avoiding time with friends and family or holding back from taking big steps with a partner
· Your partner, friends or family might begin to treat you differently in an attempt to not trigger your anxiety, creating tension
Leads to isolation
· Feeling frustrated when your partner does not worry in the same way you do
· Feeling that you are alone in your anxiety or that others view you and your anxiety negatively
What Can I Do?
Live in the moment
Pause and think about what you know will happen rather than what you don’t know
Develop independent coping strategies
It is okay to ask loved ones for help, but you do not want to become dependent
Find ways to relive tension
Meditation, breathing exercises, physical activity
Fostering your relationships while struggling with anxiety seems challenging but seeking professional help may be the first step to managing your experience. Gaining a better understanding of how your anxiety affects your relationships is important to their growth. Therapy can help to provide independent coping methods that will limit patterns of anxious thoughts and behaviors in your daily life.
CONSIDER Relational THERAPY IN CHICAGO, IL
Feeling like you are aren’t good enough can significantly impact your mental health. In this case, it may be helpful to seek counseling. That’s why the online therapists at our therapy practice based in Chicago, IL, offer therapy directed at increasing self-confidence and decreasing those negative thoughts feeding the imposter syndrome in Illinois via online therapy. We want to help you connect with yourself and begin healing from the comfort of your own home. Take the steps below to get started.
1. Fill out a consult form here.
2. Meet with a therapist to see if online therapy is a good fit.
3. Start connecting with yourself and experience the healing you deserve!
OTHER SERVICES AT OBSIDIAN COUNSELING AND WELLNESS
When you work with a therapist at our counseling practice in the Chicago, IL area, you will be met with compassion and authenticity. The team at our therapy practice feels honored to help guide folks along their healing process. Specifically, we help people address anxiety, trauma, and work stress. One of our more unique services is yoga therapy, which can also be done using online sessions. We also specialize in supporting LGBTQIA+ folks for a variety of issues. We hope that you take the leap to begin counseling with us. You deserve it.