How To Help Someone With Anxiety
Experiencing anxiety is a normal human emotion. In moderation, it can be helpful as it motivates us and allows us to stay focused on the tasks at hand. However, at some point, anxiety becomes chronic and loses its purpose.
Many people throughout the world are struggling with anxiety. It's one of the most common mental health conditions around, and it's becoming more prevalent as time goes on. After all, we are all struggling to cope with financial issues and the cost of everything continuing to climb. Unfortunately, this means that there is a really good chance that someone you know is suffering as a result of anxiety.
When you know someone has an issue such as anxiety, you want to enable them to feel better and more at ease. But finding the words to make that happen can be a challenge. Here are some tips to help someone with anxiety.
Research Anxiety
To best serve the purpose of helping someone, you should have a good understanding of what anxiety is and the associated symptoms with it. Anxiety impacts everyone differently, but there is a common core group of symptoms that are associated with it. They may experience:
Racing heart
Feeling clammy
Rapid/shallow breathing
Panic attacks
Excessive worries
Uncontrollable/negative thoughts
...and many more
By knowing the signs of anxiety, you can pick up on when someone might be experiencing an anxiety attack.
Validate Their Emotions
Anxiety is tricky because, to an outsider, it doesn't seem as if it's a big deal. You can't understand why your friend is always worried about something happening. You might not understand that just the smallest of tasks can cause them to feel nervous.
Without sounding harsh, it's not for you to understand. There's a really good chance that your loved one might not even understand why they have a fear of something bad happening. Anxiety does not have to be tied to a specific event or situation. Sometimes, a person can feel anxious and on edge for no reason at all.
When you notice that your friend is going through something, just be there for them. It doesn't help them when someone says, "You're just overreacting," or "It isn't that bad." Just listen to them and make them feel as if their feelings are valid, even if it doesn't make sense.
Do Relaxing Things Together
When you constantly feel as if you are restless and on edge, it can make it extremely difficult to find time to relax on your own. Your mind is always in overdrive, trying to plan for the future and prepare for any possible outcomes that can occur.
To help your friend with anxiety, it can be useful to try and help them find ways to relax. These relaxation techniques can serve as a distraction for them and shift their focus away from what is on their mind.
Activities that you can try to do together are:
Go for a walk together
Grab dinner and talk (they may open up about what they are struggling with, which can definitely help them.)
Do a fun activity together, like a hobby they enjoy doing
Be Their Safe Space To Talk
Opening up about mental health struggles isn't easy. After all, they might not want to feel like they are a burden. Or, they might even feel as if they are overreacting about something and they don't want to be judged.
At the end of the day, they just want to be heard and seen. Sometimes, they just need reminding that it's okay to talk about what they are facing in their life. We all go through things that bother us and need someone to vent to and express our thoughts.
Anxiety treatment can also be a powerful and transformative tool for them or you. It helps someone get to the root cause of what is bothering them and then find coping techniques to deal with it. Don't hesitate to give them our contact information.