The spouse or partner may become the sole breadwinner at times — often a stressful role and one the partner may not wish to have. Social life — People with anxiety disorders often avoid routine social activities. Unfortunately, the partner's social life can suffer as well, making both feel isolated.
Relationship anxiety doesn't necessarily mean that you're in an unhealthy relationship or your partner is a walking red flag. “Often it's caused by our own insecurities and past experiences,” says Klesman.
Living with a partner who has anxiety can present a lot of uncertainty, even for the most supportive of spouses. Here's how to cope. While money, infidelity, and intimacy issues might grab all the headlines as causes to marital strain, there's another one that you might not be thinking about: anxiety.
Anxiety disorders are the most common of mental disorders. They affect nearly 30% of adults at some point in their lives. However, anxiety disorders are treatable with a number of psychotherapeutic treatments.
While it can be difficult at times to navigate a relationship with someone who has anxiety, putting in the effort to do so has many rewards. In fact, learning how to understand and more effectively communicate with someone with anxiety can deepen your bond, and make for a more fulfilling and more intimate relationship.
An anxiety disorder replaces the feeling of safety with insecurity, fear, and lack of self-confidence. With these emotions visibly marked in the anxious partner's crankiness, sadness, lack of energy, and low self-esteem, it is no wonder that marital friendship and intimacy can be impaired.
They are twice more likely than others to run into challenges like frequent arguments, intimacy or communication problems, and social withdrawal. There are a number of ways anxiety can have a detrimental effect on marriage, but there's also a lot you can do about it.
Takeaway. If you are married to someone with anxiety, it will be challenging. You need to keep patience and help them deal with it. It will help if you remember that they are struggling and not doing anything on purpose.
Some people are afraid that their partner will leave them. Some people experience anxiety because their partner is "too" something - too rich, too good-looking, too busy, too talkative, etc. The partner (boyfriend, husband, girlfriend, wife) has qualities that lead to anxiety.
Instead, it usually is diagnosed as generalized anxiety disorder. The term "high-functioning anxiety" represents people who exhibit anxiety symptoms while maintaining a high level of functionality in various aspects of their lives.
But researchers don't know exactly what causes anxiety disorders. They suspect a combination of factors plays a role: Chemical imbalance: Severe or long-lasting stress can change the chemical balance that controls your mood. Experiencing a lot of stress over a long period can lead to an anxiety disorder.
As mentioned, some people may choose to live alone because they feel that way they can better manage their anxiety. However, it's important to consider that this, alone, isn't really managing the problem. Instead, it is simply avoiding exposing yourself to any situations in which you might become anxious.
Individuals dealing with anxiety may live in fear of daily activities and feel as if their anxiety dominates their lives. In some cases, people may use substances such as drugs or alcohol to self-medicate their anxiety symptoms. However, substance use can worsen anxiety and lead to addiction.
7. Spending More Time Worrying Than Enjoying the Relationship. It's perfectly normal to have times of worry or doubt, but if you look back and see that you're spending more time feeling insecure than happy or fulfilled, this is a clear sign of relationship anxiety.
In an attempt to avoid abandonment, an anxious attacher may become clingy, hypervigilant, and jealous in a relationship. They are often overwhelmed by the fear of being alone, so they do whatever they can within their power to hold on to their relationship.