Anxiety: The Unwanted Third Party in Your Marriage
Relationships are an incredibly important part of life. Strong connections with a partner, children, extended family, friends, and colleagues bring great happiness and help maintain your health and well-being. For many, the relationship we have with our spouse is an important source of love, strength, and support, but this is not true for everyone. Most couples experience a wide range of challenges at some point in their marriage. These obstacles can become more difficult to overcome when you or your spouse has an anxiety disorder. Anxiety can leave you uncertain of what to do to overcome your symptoms or how to support your spouse who may be experiencing them.
What is Anxiety?
Anxiety itself is a normal human emotion, one that we all feel from time to time. It’s when anxiety becomes frequent and persistent that it begins to become problematic.
Symptoms of an anxiety disorder include intense worry, difficulty controlling worry, irritability, fatigue, difficulty focusing, restlessness, difficulty sleeping, muscle tension and even panic attacks. When these symptoms occur more and more often it can be beneficial to seek treatment with a qualified therapist.
Anxiety as an Unwanted Guest
Over the past years, the level of anxiety in families has significantly increased for a wide range of reasons. The pressures of everyday life from work, family, social obligations etc. can create a great deal of worry and angst. With ever growing expectations and responsibilities anxiety can grow to exponential proportions without intervention.
No matter how solid a relationship is, if one or both partners is experiencing intrusive symptoms of anxiety, the relationship will likely be affected. Anxiety, by its very nature, can isolate not only the person suffering from it, but also the entire household.
Finding Calm in the Midst of Anxiety
Anxiety is a serious but highly treatable psychological condition. While it is normal to experience some amount of anxiety in your life, you cannot ignore symptoms that become excessive and make it difficult for you or your loved one to get through the day. Anxiety can be debilitating when left untreated. Fortunately, treatment for anxiety is available and effective, especially when sought sooner rather than later.
If anxiety is impacting your relationship, you can get help. While an anxiety disorder cannot be cured overnight, you can develop a treatment plan to tackle anxiety together. Carolina Counseling Services contracts independently with specialists in treating anxiety-related conditions. Find calm amidst the chaos of anxiety. Call Carolina Counseling Services — Pittsboro, NC, now to schedule an appointment.