Dating someone with anxiety issues or anxiety disorders can be terribly stressfully and frustrating for a significant other. Individuals who suffer from anxiety will commonly stir confusion and doubt within the relationship. Sometimes this will leave a significant other feeling as if they’re dealing with a third party within the relationship.
“My anxiety is doubting everything you, my loving boyfriend, say to me. It’s doubting your trust when you have given me no reason in the world not to trust you. It’s questioning if you want to be together because of the way I’ve been treated in previous relationships or agonizing over why you didn’t respond when I said “I love you” when you probably just didn’t hear me. My anxiety is an emotional roller coaster almost every day. And I’m in the front seat every time whether I like it or not.”
Now, there’s no class in dating much less dating someone with anxiety issues or disorders. However, suffering from anxiety doesn’t have to be the cause of strain relationships with loved ones either. Educating yourself on how to deal with someone with anxiety can relieve a lot of stress. Understanding your partner’s anxiety in general and how it affects both you and your partner as well as your relationship.
Those who suffer from anxiety fight a constant battle within themselves based on the decisions they have made or haven’t made and left feeling defeated every time. As a partner, it is important for one to exercise the following:
8 Things You Should Do When Someone With Anxiety
Reassurance them constantly
Keep them in the loop of your life
Text them when you are on our way or when you get home
Hug them often
Identify their triggers
No surprises unless you know it will make them happy
Change is hard
Be there