The Benefits Of Seeing A Therapist For Anxiety

Seeing a therapist for anxiety can help you in a multitude of ways. If you’re in a relationship, seeking therapy for anxiety can reduce tension, combat dependency, teach conflict resolution skills, and increase trust. It can also help you learn effective coping methods, identify your triggers, and gain a deeper understanding of the type of anxiety you’re experiencing. To find a licensed therapist who can help you manage anxiety, you might do an online search for mental health professionals in your area or join an online therapy platform.

How therapy for anxiety can help your relationships

Severe anxiety can affect all aspects of life, including relationships. When one or both partners in a relationship has severe anxiety or an anxiety disorder, it can put a serious strain on the pair. Relationships can be challenging, even when one of the partners is not going through something difficult. With the introduction of anxiety, conversations can turn into a fight or lead to an anxiety attack. Couples therapy and individual therapy can both be helpful if one or both partners live with anxiety or other mental health challenges.

Having a healthy relationship can be very important, and it can also be important to set the relationship up for success. Therapy can help the relationship thrive, even if one or both partners have anxiety. There may be many ways seeing a therapist who specializes in treating anxiety can help the relationship be successful, but here are just a few:

Reduce tension between partners

A common symptom of anxiety disorders can be the avoidance of arguments, confrontations, or feelings in general. This symptom is sometimes called "avoidance coping." This can be harmful in all relationships, but often more so with romantic relationships. It can be very normal and even healthy to have disagreements in a romantic relationship. Couples generally must work out the areas they disagree on, or else the tension can build up and become a heated argument. If one partner is experiencing avoidance coping, it’s possible the relationship will see bigger arguments than normal.

Therapists normally know how to treat avoidance coping, as it can be very common and well-researched. They can encourage and educate their clients on how to have healthy disagreements without triggering an anxiety attack. A therapist may try different methods to help their clients learn coping skills when faced with an argument or an uncomfortable conversation.

Combat dependency

It is often normal for someone to depend on their partner to help them get through difficult times. However, if one partner lives with an anxiety disorder, they may become overly dependent on their partner. For someone with anxiety, it can be easy to look to their partner to feel peace, comfort, and safety. Depending on a romantic partner to an excessive degree is generally not healthy and can lead to more intense anxiety symptoms for the partner with anxiety. It can also wear on the other partner over time as it can be overwhelming to constantly fulfill their partner’s needs and make them feel safe when they’re frequently anxious.

Licensed therapists are usually trained to help their clients who tend to be overly dependent on their partners. There are even therapists who specialize in treating anxiety and offer couples counseling for situations like dependency. They can provide the partner with anxiety with methods to help them self-soothe when symptoms arise. They can also give the other partner information on how to support their partner with anxiety without allowing them to be fully dependent.

Teach conflict resolution skills

During an anxiety attack or when experiencing anxiety symptoms, people often say things they don't mean, especially during an argument. It can be very common for anxiety to take hold of people and cause an even bigger argument. The racing thoughts, fast heart rate, and extreme fear can take a small disagreement and turn it into a fight. Licensed therapists can help their clients move on from these large fights without sparking an anxiety attack or making the argument worse.

Increase trust

Anxiety can contribute to trust issues or cause a person to worry about what their partner may be doing when they’re not together. It can bring out feelings of doubt, insecurity, anger, and other negative emotions involving the relationship. Trust issues in any relationship are generally not healthy and should be addressed as soon as possible. 

The partner living with anxiety usually must realize they are feeling doubtful about their relationship because of their anxiety, not because of their partner’s actions. This realization can be possible with the help of a therapist.

How therapy can help an individual

Here are just a few of the most common ways people feel therapists have helped them:

Find effective coping methods

There may be dozens of coping skills to prevent or manage anxiety attacks and symptoms. A therapist can work with you to help find the most effective coping methods for you. They will likely ask you questions, get a sense of your personality, and learn more about what triggers your anxiety. From their experience and training, your counselor may suggest effective coping methods for you to lean on during an anxiety attack.

Identify triggers

Most of the time, anxiety attacks occur because of a triggering event, action, word, or situation. These triggers may not be evident to the person struggling with anxiety, but there is a good chance they exist. Mental health professionals can help their clients pinpoint their different triggers by talking through what happened just before an attack. This can help the person with anxiety better understand what is happening and why it is occurring, which can empower them to work through their triggers.

Understand what type of anxiety is occurring

There can be many different anxiety disorders, and they may require different treatment plans. To generalize, there are generally six main anxiety disorders, with each usually having more specific disorders falling underneath their category. The main six are generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), phobias (including social anxiety disorder), and agoraphobia. If you have never been to therapy before, you may be unsure what type of anxiety you have. Being properly educated on what you are living with and why you feel the way you do can be an important step toward healing.

Cognitive behavioral therapy

While every therapist may have their own approach to therapy for anxiety, a common treatment method is often cognitive-behavioral therapy. This approach can be very effective, and it typically looks at the way a person’s thoughts, emotions, and behaviors may contribute to anxiety. 

Finding a therapist for anxiety

Finding a therapist for anxiety can be as simple as completing a Google search for “anxiety therapists near me.” Another option, however, may be joining an online therapy platform. Some people with anxiety may find it challenging to leave the house and meet with a therapist in person, and online therapy can empower them to get the professional help they deserve from home.

As this study explains, online therapy and in-office therapy generally have the same level of efficacy. Either option can be valid and beneficial for those who are interested in working with a licensed mental health professional to improve their anxiety or any other mental health challenges they may be experiencing.