Living with anxiety is not easy for anyone due to the constant fear of everyday events.
It may become difficult for you to watch your partner devolve into someone afraid of crossing the road or going to the bank.
Therefore, it's understandable that you may begin to consider ways to help your partner conquer anxiety.
One of such profound ways you can try to use is to offer them comfort. It's essential to provide verbal, physical, and emotional comfort as it allows them to feel safe in your presence and stay calm enough to start getting back to normalcy.
Also, ensure that you listen to them attentively when they talk to you.
Usually, anxiety is caused by pent-up anxious thoughts that they did not share with other people.
Now that your partner is willing to talk about their thoughts, make sure to listen so they don't continue to bottle them in anymore.
You can similarly try to encourage them by initiating exciting activities to take away their concerns.
When they are engrossed in happy events or games, they will tend to forget their anxiety, thinking only of the current happiness and slowly healing back to normalcy.
Try to consider more details about the ways to help your partner conquer anxiety:
Giving your partner comfort is vital to help them feel safe while doing everyday activities.
It also helps them have a relaxed approach to events, and the longer you can keep offering comfort, the more comfortable they will be till they eventually lose the anxiety.
When you want to help your partner conquer anxiety by offering comfort, you should first try to understand what comfort means to them.
Your partner may regard romantic and caring words as the comfort they need, or they may require physical intimacy.
Despite their initial definition of what comfort means to them, you should understand that this meaning may change regularly.
Humans are dynamic, and it's normal to have changes in interests; therefore, you should be flexible with how you comfort them to satisfy them all the time.
With anxiety making them worry about everything, they will also worry about you leaving them because you are tired of giving them comfort.
Thus, you have to constantly remind them that you are comfortable with what you are doing and you are willing to continue till they get better.
Speaking up about their anxiety is generally difficult for people with the condition because they understand that they should not have such negative thoughts about regular events.
Hence, to help your partner conquer anxiety, you have to listen to them with judgment.
If your partner decides to talk to you, that's an indication that they have been able to go past a mental block and deserve to be heard as attentively as they desire.
When they talk to you, make sure you put aside every distraction and make them your priority at that point.
Avoid watching the TV, gazing at the windows, or following moving objects.
Simply stick to watching them as they talk so they can understand that you are invested in their story.
You should also ensure that you don't interrupt them during their talk.
If you notice anything that may cause you to interrupt, just keep it in your mind till they are done talking.
Interrupting them may stop their line of thought, making it hard to continue their talk.
Prolonged anxiety may cause a person to feel sad because they understand that their fear of everyday things prevents them from enjoying life.
Therefore, you should try to introduce exciting activities if you want to help your partner conquer anxiety.
The exciting activities will help them have sources of joy that will help them shrug off the sadness and get used to enjoying regular activities.
You can start with a funny TV show at home because laughing helps to reduce anxiety and increase mental resilience.
Similarly, you can engage in long evening walks together.
Since evenings are generally cool, walking is a low-impact exercise, and there are fewer activities in the neighborhood, there is an excellent chance that taking a walk will help reduce your partner's anxiety while strengthening your romance.
Since anxiety can be triggered by sudden sensory information, you can also engage in activities where there is controlled sensory information.
You can try listening to music together, enabling you to have fun while being able to control the volume of the music and drown out their anxious thoughts.
Your anxious partner will surely have specific symptoms they are ashamed of.
They may be ashamed of their fear of having a phone conversation, sweating profusely, talking too quickly, or overthinking a small matter.
If you want to help your partner conquer anxiety, you have to make sure you don't also shame them for these symptoms.
Shaming them will only make them sad and embarrassed, leaving them more time to think anxious thoughts.
Also, ensure that you don't blame them for taking too long to get over their anxiety.
Getting upset at them won't work since they are also working hard to erase the condition, and your blame game will only cause pain for them.
Instead of shaming them, try to tell them sweet words and remind them of your love for them.
Also, ensure you show understanding whenever they exhibit any symptom and tell them, "It's fine."
At the peak of anxiety, your partner will reasonably fear that the anxiety may never go, causing them to develop more anxiety.
It's your duty at this point to swoop in and help your partner conquer anxiety by reminding them that anxiety doesn't stay forever.
Make them realize that anxiety can be managed.
Although there is no single method to manage anxiety, let them know that you are willing to help them try the different techniques till you find the perfect one.
Also, be sure to inform them that particular events can trigger anxiety.
Letting them know this can help kickstart a process of finding the exact triggers to understand how to avoid them.
When you constantly remind them that anxiety will eventually go, it will help them look forward to that goal.
It will also enable them to be serious about achieving the goal.
Watching a partner live in anxiety can be painful, but you can stop that pain by learning ways to help your partner conquer anxiety.
These ways include offering them comfort, getting comfortable with listening to them, partaking in exciting activities, ensuring you aren't shaming them, and reminding them of anxiety's fleeting nature.
https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/6-ways-to-provide-comfort-if-youve-hurt-your-partner-0910184/amp/
https://www.mentalhelp.net/blogs/talking-with-a-depressed-partner/
https://thriveworks.com/blog/date-night-ideas-anxious-depressed-partner/
https://www.symbis.com/blog/8-ways-to-help-your-spouse-through-anxiety/
https://lifecounselinginstitute.com/you-shouldnt-be-ashamed-of-your-anxiety-heres-why/
https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/body/health/a19718819/will-my-anxiety-ever-go-away/
I am a Licensed Professional Counselor, and owner of Overcomers Counseling. I'm dedicated to helping individuals find strength and healing through life’s challenges. With a deep understanding of mental health and years of professional experience, I specialize in fostering hope and resilience while equipping her clients with tools to thrive. Passionate about empowering others, she creates a safe, supportive space where everyone feels seen, valued, and capable of overcoming obstacles on their path to well-being.
Other activities which have been found helpful in reducing both immediate feelings of anxiousness and long-term anxieties associated with chronic disorders include yoga, journaling, nature walks, art therapy, volunteering, and other low-stress activities. Additionally, developing a healthy lifestyle incorporating adequate sleep, physical activity, and nutritious meals can help reduce overall stress levels.
Ignoring anxiety can exacerbate symptoms and make it more challenging to manage over time. This can result in a negative impact on your personal, professional, and social life, leading to feelings of isolation and even depression.
Yes, Medicaid provides insurance coverage for therapy services specifically designed to help individuals struggling with anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions.
The duration of anxiety counseling varies for each individual, depending on the severity of their anxiety and their progress in therapy. Our therapists will regularly assess your progress and adjust your treatment plan as needed.
Medication is often prescribed for anxiety due to the fact that it works quickly to ease symptoms of distress or panic attacks in some cases. However, this should always be discussed with your doctor so they can provide guidance on what's right for you and the type of medication best suited for your needs.
Addressing anxiety is crucial because it can significantly impact your quality of life and overall well-being. Left untreated, anxiety can lead to more severe mental health issues, relationship problems, and difficulty functioning in daily life.
