Anxiety Does Not Have to Overwhelm You and Your Relationship

Last week I made a blog post about 5 ways anxiety shows up and can ruin your relationship. This week I thought it was important to discuss ways you can help prevent anxiety from impacting your relationship.

In previous blog posts I have shared ways you can calm anxiety but I also think it is important to address steps you can take to reduce your anxiety when it comes impacting a marriage and dating relationships.

When anxiety is present in your life it adds an extra layer to a lot of things and can impact your work, your social life, your family and relationships, and even your health.

Taking an active approach to reduce your anxiety and challenge it when it shows up only serves you better in the long run.

As an anxiety therapist in Wilmington, NC, I talk with my clients often about ways their anxiety impacts them. I provide therapy for women and specialize in anxiety treatment, treatment for perfectionism, treatment for imposter syndrome, and burnout counseling.

Interested in starting therapy with me? Click the button below to schedule your free 15 minute consultation and let’s find out if we would be a great match!

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Keep reading to learn how to not let your anxiety ruin your relationship.

5 Ways to Not Let Your Anxiety Ruin Your Relationship

Check out these tips with actionable items you can take and start incorporating this week!

#1 Practice Communication

Jumping right into the depend of the pool with this one! Okay okay, I get it. This is not the easiest one but stick out with me here…

When you have anxiety, communicating with your significant other can be challenging because it requires some vulnerability. When it comes to discussing serious topics, often clients will tell me they are looking for a “perfect moment” or “perfect opportunity” to communicate what they may think or feel about important topics. Often this leads to procrastination and continued building up anxiety.

Try this: Make times weekly to check-in so it is planned and on the calendar or practice by making it a fun game where you can change it up by asking fun questions to your significant other along with some serious questions mixed in too - check out the article posted below.

Marriage and family therapist, Leslee Bry, MFT from Mindful Marriage and Family Therapy states “I tell couples to do the questions as intended or for a more spontaneous feeling date night, I have them cut up the questions and draw them randomly from a bowl while enjoying dinner together.”

The 36 Questions to Fall In Love: The Research Behind The Viral Experiment

#2 Get Your Needs Met

There are so many moving pieces in your life and you wear the hats on so many roles. It can be really easy to overlook getting your needs met and being able to show up and meet the needs of your partner. Making sure your needs are met is a great way to help reduce anxiety.

Try this: Take turns throughout the week being intentional how your partner can meet your needs and vice versa. Pick one thing that would be the most helpful. Maybe it is help with a task or chore, extra quality time during the evening, or wanting increased intimacy that doesn’t have to be only sex - think handholding, hugs, kisses, cuddling.

#3 Support, Validate, and Listen

Communicating isn’t just about talking but it is also about being a good listener so you can hear and understand what your partner is saying and vice versa. When anxiety is high and defenses are up most likely you are not able to focus and concentrate on what is being said and often already formulating a response to your partner.

Try this: If you are feeling anxious and overwhelmed, ask your partner to pause for a second so you can take a deep breath to help ground yourself, and then ask for your partner to proceed. This can help you focus and pay attention to your partner. You can also let your partner know if this is a situation in which you need support or need help identifying a solution. Sometimes it can be common for a partner to jump into “fixer” mode when the partner with anxiety does starting communicating and sharing their feelings.

You can also check out this helpful blog post to give to a partner to use as a guide and way to open up a conversation about what is personally helpful for you - 5 Things to Do When You Are Dating Someone with Anxiety

#4 Playfulness is Key

Playfulness is so important in your romantic relationships. It helps you to be in the present moment and experience feelings of joy, happiness, and excitement with your partner. It can also create moments of closeness, safety, and security.

Play can also help foster trust and intimacy and relieve stress and anxiety.

Try this: Go to the park with your partner and ask your partner to push you on the swings, have a spontaneous dance party in the living room, or break out a board game or some Twister.

#5 Practice Your Own Self-Care

Taking care of yourself outside of your relationship is really important. Your partner can not meet all your needs just like your friends cannot meet all your needs. You have to be responsible for taking care of yourself and your mental health.

Try this: Get into therapy to address your anxiety, be proactive in building coping skills and using them, create time in your schedule each week just for you, or set boundaries around your time and energy.

Reduce Anxiety and Begin Anxiety Therapy in Wilmington, NC

Anxiety can be stressful and overwhelming. Anxiety can impact several areas of your life including your marriage or dating relationship. You don’t have to let your anxiety control you or negatively impact your relationship.

Follow these 4 simple steps to get started in anxiety therapy at Calm Waters Counseling.

Click the button to schedule your free 15 minute consultation
Complete the brief questionnaire sent to your email
Meet with your anxiety therapist
Begin living your life with less anxiety

Schedule My Free 15 Minute Consultation

Anxiety Therapy for Women in Wilmington, NC

Learn more about me and providing therapy in Wilmington, NC.

I specialize in women’s therapy in Wilmington, NC online counseling practice. I provide anxiety treatment, therapy to overcome perfectionism, therapy to overcome imposter syndrome, and burnout counseling when work stress is present.

Online Anxiety Therapy in North Carolina

In addition to in-person therapy appointments I also offer virtual therapy appointments for clients living in Maryland and North Carolina.

When providing online counseling for women in North Carolina and Maryland, I use a HIPAA compliant video platform where we can both see and hear each other. To learn more about online therapy in these places, click the links below.