Your Great Guide to Anxiety and Relationships
Anxiety and worry are common. Sometimes worry can be beneficial, helping people prepare for the future and cope with threats. However, people with anxiety disorders experience worry that is out of proportion to a situation or becomes difficult to manage.
Anxiety disorders have a variety of impacts on people’s lives, including on their relationships. In this post, we’ll hear from Dyad Psychology’s therapist Jennifer Green, LMHC, on how anxiety impacts relationships, and how a holistic approach can help clients reduce anxiety.
About Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety disorders affect about one in three people. Jennifer Green, LMHC, notes people can experience symptoms of anxiety in different ways. For some individuals, anxiety means racing thoughts, excessive worry, difficulty focusing, or feeling that the worst will happen. People with anxiety disorders may also be distressed by how much they worry and feel their mental state is out of their control. Other people experience physiological symptoms of anxiety including restlessness, shaking or trembling, a racing heartbeat or palpitations, or feelings of tightness in the body. Anxiety can also manifest as irritability or mood swings.
Anxiety results from a variety of factors, including biological, psychological, and social factors. For instance, medical issues can cause anxiety. So can low self-esteem or negative emotions, or life stressors such as a high workload or low levels of social support. Moreover, anxiety disorders often go hand-on-hand with other mental health conditions such as depression or substance use disorder.
Social Anxiety
One common form of anxiety is social anxiety, also known as social phobia. People with social anxiety often have an extreme fear of how people will evaluate them in social situations. They may want to make a good impression but feel they are unable to. As a result, people with social anxiety will often avoid situations where other people might evaluate them badly, or will experience a great deal of anxiety in these situations.
Aside from anxiety in social situations, people with social anxiety can exhibit a variety of physical symptoms, like a fast heartbeat, blushing, feeling tense, and sweating.
Anxiety and Relationships
Anxiety disorders impact people’s lives in many ways. One major area in which anxiety impacts people is in their relationships. Here are a few of the impacts of anxiety on relationships:
1. Avoidance
First, anxiety can cause people to avoid relationships. Therapist Jennifer Green, LMHC, notes that some people with anxiety “may avoid conversations or withdraw from others,” since they may not feel they have the capacity to cope with their anxiety. Along similar lines, people with social anxiety may be less assertive or expressive in interpersonal relationships.
2. Overdependence
Anxiety can also have the opposite effect; those who are experiencing high levels of anxiety may feel a greater need for reassurance and support from those close to them. They may fear rejection in relationships and experience greater interpersonal dependency, including an overreliance on other people. Thus, people with social anxiety may be perceived as needy and submissive, which can strain relationships or lead to the development of unhealthy relationships.
3. Tension
Jennifer Green, LMHC, notes anxiety can sometimes cause irritability. As a result, individuals with anxiety may lash out or be more argumentative than usual, which can strain relationships.
4. Relationship Worries
People with high levels of anxiety may experience anxiety about a relationship itself, such as worries about their partner cheating. In turn, this can lead to different issues, such as dependence or controlling behavior, or avoidance of relationships altogether.
5. Emotional contagion
In close relationships, one person’s emotions may influence the other’s. This phenomenon is referred to as “emotional contagion.” One study of married couples in which one partner had an anxiety disorder found that the non-anxious partner received less support and availability from their spouse when their spouse was more anxious. While many couples with an anxious partner still had satisfying relationships, it appears elevated anxiety in one partner can influence the other partner.
reducing Anxiety
What can you do about anxiety? Dyad Psychology’s therapist Jennifer Green, LMHC, takes a holistic approach to helping clients with anxiety. She may advise clients on strategies like meditation and dietary changes alongside traditional therapy, depending on their needs.
Her strategies for managing anxiety deal with all stages of the process; they can help clients increase their self-awareness, learn skills to use in moments of anxiety, and lower their baseline levels of anxiety.
Meditation, Breathwork, and Yoga
Meditation, breathwork, and yoga can help decrease people’s baseline levels of anxiety. Jennifer Green notes that she often encourages clients with anxiety to engage in meditation or yoga. In fact, “studies show that meditation is effective in decreasing the stress hormone cortisol, and when practiced regularly, beneficial physical changes to the brain can occur.” She also notes breathing exercises can help clients with anxiety. The specific technique does not really matter, so long as people find something that works best for them.
Diet
As a therapist, Jennifer Green is passionate about intersections between nutrition and mental health. She notes that “what we eat can help us fuel our bodies in healthy ways or increase the level of stress on our bodies.” Anxiety can influence eating habits in different ways: “Some of us may tend to stress eat and seek comfort in ‘feel good’ foods when anxious. Others may notice that they don't have an appetite when anxious and find themselves skipping meals, leading to inadequate fuel for the body and brain.”
Jennifer Green notes studies have found associations between lower levels of anxiety and specific eating patterns. These eating patterns include having more fruits and vegetables, consuming omega-3 fatty acids, including a range of phytochemicals (naturally occurring plant compounds that provide health benefits), and incorporating probiotics. She also advises that general dietary supplements like a multivitamin can provide benefits. In addition, nutritional deficiencies can increase anxiety, so some individuals may benefit from specific supplements. However, she advises working with a dietician or doctor when considering specific supplements aside from a multivitamin.
Therapy for Anxiety
Therapy for anxiety can work in tandem with lifestyle changes to decrease people’s anxiety. Jennifer Green, LMHC, notes individual therapy can help people “identify sources of anxiety, recognize triggers, and learn ways to better cope.” As a therapist for anxiety, she often uses cognitive behavioral principles for clients with anxiety. Cognitive behavioral techniques can help people gain more clarity about the relationship between their emotions, underlying thoughts (which can include negative automatic thoughts), and behaviors. For those whose anxiety leads them to avoid situations or conversations, she may also use exposure therapy, in addition to rehearsing or role-playing conversations in sessions.
Group Therapy for Anxiety
Group therapy is another way to deal with anxiety. Jennifer Green, LMHC, hosts a therapy group called “Better Mental Health Through Nutrition & Wellness.” If implementing lifestyle changes to manage anxiety seems overwhelming, this group helps clients get started with learning about diet, exercise, and self-care in a therapeutic, supportive context.
Conclusion
Anxiety disorders are prevalent conditions that can have a profound impact on an individual's life, especially their relationships. As Jennifer Green, LMHC, highlights, anxiety can manifest in various ways, from physical symptoms to emotional and behavioral shifts like avoidance, overdependence, and irritability. These effects can strain relationships through leading to issues like avoidance, overdependence, or tension. However, anxiety can be managed; Jennifer Green advocates for a holistic approach that includes practices like meditation and yoga, a focus on nutrition, and therapy. By addressing the root causes of anxiety and developing healthy habits, it is possible not only to reduce the symptoms of anxiety but also to foster stronger, healthier relationships.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between normal worry and an anxiety disorder?
Normal worry is often short-lived and related to a specific, identifiable situation. An anxiety disorder, on the other hand, involves excessive and persistent worry that is out of proportion to the situation and significantly interferes with daily life. People with anxiety disorders often feel their worry is uncontrollable.
How does anxiety influence relationships?
Anxiety can impact people’s relationships by leading them to avoid relationships, or to become overly dependent within relationships due to a fear of rejection. Mood changes associated with anxiety, such as irritability, can also create relationship tension. Specific anxieties about the relationship and emotional contagion can also strain relationships.
How can therapy help with anxiety?
Jennifer Green, LMHC, notes therapy can help people with anxiety by empowering them to “identify sources of anxiety, recognize triggers, and learn ways to better cope.”