How to Live With an Anxious Partner |
Take our Generalized Anxiety Disorder Test
Find a therapist to overcome anxiety
Anxious individuals often avoid activities that make them uncomfortable.
Spouses and partners may experience a constricted lifestyle if they accommodate this avoidance of activities.
Resentment associated with missing out on important life experiences may threaten the relationship.
Encouraging loved ones to overcome their fears rather than avoiding them will improve their mental health.
Individuals who consistently experience excessive anxiety in daily life often cope by avoiding activities and places that increase their feelings of anxiety. The partners and spouses of these individuals often experience increased anxiety as a result of their empathy towards their loved one and enable the constriction of their lifestyle as more and more activities and places are avoided. The long-term effect of this strategy is two very anxious individuals living in a very small world, missing out on much that life has to offer. This can threaten the integrity of the relationship as resentment builds as the previously non-anxious partner sacrifices more and more to quell their loved one’s anxiety. Learning how to address your partner’s anxiety without giving in to it will support the integrity of the relationship while minimizing the avoidance of life activities.
Chronic excessive anxiety can be the result of many different causes. A history of trauma, neurochemical imbalance, and lack of self-confidence are very frequent drivers. Responding to your loved one’s anxiety by........