Being in a healthy relationship can be a beautiful thing. But when one partner is faced with anxiety, it can become a tedious task.
Relationship anxiety means you’re constantly worrying and having doubts about your relationship. It’s often a result of one’s past, low self-esteem, emotional neglect, and insecurities.
If you’re nursing any form of fear about your relationship, you’ll understand how difficult it is to fully enjoy the moment.
However, all hope is not lost, as there are ways to deal with these fears and come out of them.
Fortunately, that’s what this article is all about. In this guide post, I’ll be discussing 11 proven ways to deal with relationship anxiety. Stay with me till the end.
11 Proven Ways to Deal with Relationship Anxiety
If you’re faced with relationship anxiety, identifying the cause of your fears is the first step in handling such a situation. Then talking with your partner about it and learning to always communicate your feelings will help.
Also, seeking help from professionals, working on your self-esteem, surrounding yourself with trustworthy people, and practicing self-relaxing techniques are ways to deal with these anxieties.
Below are 11 proven ways to deal with relationship anxiety:
- Identify the cause of your anxiety
- Talk to your partner
- Learn to communicate your feelings
- Work on your self-esteem
- Surround yourself with trustworthy people
- Practice self-relaxing techniques whenever you feel the anxiety
- Do healthy things together
- Practice self-love
- Seek help from a professional
- Deal with your fears before getting into a relationship
- Take a break
Identify the Cause of Your Anxiety
The first step in getting a solution to a problem is identifying the root of the problem. You can’t properly handle a situation if you don’t understand what led to such a situation.
So, if you’re faced with anxieties in your relationship, understanding the triggers will aid in your dealing and overcoming.
Do you still think about your past relationships and how bad they were? Are memories from childhood taunting you? Does your partner give you enough attention?
What do you think makes you doubt your partner’s love for you?
It could be the relationships you’ve had in the past. Being in an unhealthy relationship or being with a bad partner might affect the new relationships you get into.
It’s likely you unconsciously compare your partner to someone you’ve dated in the past.
Also, if you had a traumatic childhood, it could lead to attachment disorders that can trigger relationship anxiety. In addition, if your partner is not paying you enough attention, it might make you nurse fears about their fidelity.
So, reflect and identify the cause of your anxiety before you can confront them.
Talk to Your Partner
Another important thing you should do if you’re battling relationship anxiety is to talk to your partner.
Talking with your partner can help solve a lot of problems and can also help prevent a lot of issues.
First, it’ll help your partner understand why you behave like you do or react the way you do.
For instance, this anxiety can make you question your partner about the people they talk to or make you doubt their love for you. So, when they see these things, they’ll understand what’s going on.
Also, it’ll make them help and support you through your fears. A partner who cares about you will help you find solutions to your problem.
So, if your partner is aware of the experiences you’ve had in the past, which are causing your fears, they’ll be more patient in dealing with you and will be willing to seek help for you.
Moreover, talking to your partner about these things will show them that you care enough about them and the relationship and that you’re willing to make things work.
Learn to Communicate Your Feelings
Another thing you should do as someone battling relationship anxiety is to always communicate your feelings. Communicating your feelings is one of the best ways to tackle these fears.
While telling your partner about your fears is one thing, it doesn’t end there. There’s the need to always communicate your feelings to them.
What communicating your feelings means is that you should always let them know how you feel about something they do rather than keep it to yourself while being moody and indifferent.
Share your doubts and worries with them, and let them know why you’re suddenly sad. You shouldn’t expect them to always know when you’re upset or know the cause.
Additionally, by speaking to them about these emotions, you help eliminate actions and uncertainties that can trigger these fears.
If you like your partner to always say “I love you,” let them know, if you like them to call more often, let them know. Remember their love language might be different from yours, but you can make them understand yours.
Work on Your Self-esteem
One of the things that causes anxiety in relationships is low self-esteem. In fact, not just in romantic relationships, low self-esteem causes anxiety in dealing with people and facing challenges.
If you’re suffering from low self-esteem, you’ll always question things that happen to you, always doubt your worth, and always be scared to take huge steps.
Having low self-esteem can be a result of abuses you faced in the past. If you were constantly bullied or lived in an environment void of love, it could impact your self-worth.
Consequently, being in a relationship with low self-esteem leads to insecurities and will constantly make you look for validation.
Also, it’ll make you always dwell on negative things and lead you to question your partner’s actions towards you.
So, if you notice you don’t always think highly of yourself, you need to work on that, as this feeling is one of the major reasons you don’t enjoy your relationship.
Surround Yourself with Trustworthy People
Another way to deal with anxiety in your relationship is to surround yourself with trustworthy people.
If you’ve had past relationships where people have ridden over you, it then means you’ve got to be careful with your next relationships.
Also, if you’ve had past experiences that have done a lot to your self-esteem, mental health, or to you generally, filtering the people that come into your life is very important.
So, surrounding yourself with trustworthy people, people who support you and genuinely care about you is a great way to manage relationship anxiety.
Moreover, if you already have a problem with trusting people, why should you involve yourself with someone you know who keeps several partners?
Also, you have no business getting involved with someone you know is dishonest if you can’t handle lies.
Therefore, you should make time for people who truly love you and get involved with these types of people. Doing so will eliminate scenarios that trigger relationship anxiety.
Practice Self-relaxing Techniques Whenever You Feel the Anxiety
Practicing self-relaxing techniques is one of the ways to manage anxiety.
In this case, it’s reasonable when you have physical reactions to whatever is triggering the anxiety. For instance, rapid breathing, dizziness, lightheadedness, or chest tightness.
When you feel this way, certain self-relaxing measures can help overcome or manage the fears at that point.
So, practicing these techniques in your relationship can help manage fears whenever they arise.
For instance, if you feel a tightness in your chest or your heart beats faster because your partner does not return your calls, this moment is when you need to practice these techniques to help you relax.
These techniques include but are not limited to yoga, deep breathing, meditation, and activities that can help you relax. With these practices, you’ll become more aware of yourself and be able to think properly.
Moreover, it’ll help you be more in control of your actions and reactions.
Do Healthy Things Together
Another way you can manage relationship anxiety is to engage in healthy activities with your partner.
Having a partner isn’t enough. But, the quality time you spend together and the things you do together make a lot of difference.
So, if you’re currently battling insecurities in your relationship or having any form of doubt, talk to your partner and suggest doing some things together.
When you spend enough time together relaxing, exercising, or engaging in any fun activities, it’ll limit the time you’ll have to worry about your relationship.
Moreover, if you make it a habit, with time you’ll be free of your anxiety without realizing when it happened.
Practice Self-love
Practicing self-love is another way you can manage anxiety in your relationship. If you don’t have enough love for yourself it’ll be difficult to give out.
Also, many times you experience doubt about your partner’s love for you, it is often a result of what you feel about yourself.
If you think you’re not good enough, then it’ll be difficult to understand why someone says you’re good. If you think you’re not beautiful, you’ll have every reason to doubt your partner’s words when they call you beautiful.
Therefore, you need to start with yourself. Show yourself more compassion and more care. You need to start seeing yourself as someone special.
Moreover, having enough self-love will make it easier to see your partner’s love for you. In the end, you’ll see that most fears you nurse are what you create yourself.
Seek Help from a Professional
Another way to handle anxiety in your relationship is to seek help from a professional.
This step will be necessary in certain situations where you’ve tried managing your fears with your partner and you’re not making progress.
With the help of a professional, you’ll be properly guided on how to work on yourself, including building your self-esteem, dealing with negative thoughts, and getting enough self-love.
In addition, a professional can walk you and your partner on ways to manage your emotions and deal with conflicts better.
So, if you’ve noticed little progress in overcoming your fears in your relationship, consider meeting a therapist who’ll make things easier for you.
Deal with Your Fears Before Getting into a Relationship
Another thing you should keep in mind if you’re battling anxiety is to deal with the fears before getting into a relationship.
If you’ve suffered anxiety in your previous relationships, it’s wise to deal with those fears before getting into a new one.
Also, if you nurse any form of insecurities about yourself, you’ve got low self-esteem, or you’ve had a traumatic experience, it’d be better if you worked on yourself before getting into a relationship.
Moreover, this step will help you navigate your new relationship better, helping you make better decisions and be in better control.
Take a Break
It’ll get to a point where you might’ve to take a break from your relationship. If you’ve taken the necessary steps and even seen a professional and you’re yet to break from those fears, it’s necessary to take a break to work on yourself.
If you’ve got an understanding partner who truly loves you, they’ll understand and even wait for you until you’re ready.
However, if it doesn’t work with them later, at least you’ve got yourself saved, which is more important.
Taking relationship breaks will help you focus on yourself better and deal with those fears. If you’ve suffered from trauma, seeing a professional will help.
If you battle low self-esteem, taking that break will help you seek ways to better yourself.
And finally, when you’re free from these fears, you’ll know you’re very much ready for a romantic relationship.
Final Words
Relationship anxiety can cause damage to our beautiful relationships if not properly managed.
So, if you notice these fears, it’s best you acknowledge and confront them. Start with identifying the triggers, talking with your partner, practicing self-relaxing techniques, and engaging in healthy activities with your loved ones.
In addition, speak to a professional when necessary, take that bold step towards a break, and better yourself.
