Loving Someone with Anxiety (Without Losing Your Mind): 10 Therapist-Backed Tips
Understanding Anxiety in Relationships đź’ž
Anxiety doesn’t just affect the person experiencing it — it ripples through relationships, creating tension, confusion, and emotional exhaustion.
If you love someone with anxiety, you might feel helpless, frustrated, or even burned out. Here’s how to support your partner and protect your own wellbeing.
10 Therapist-Backed Tips
1. Learn the basics
Understand anxiety responses like fight, flight, or freeze. These are automatic and not a choice.
2. Avoid “just relax”
Telling someone to “just relax” or “calm down” rarely helps and can make them feel misunderstood.
3. Validate their feelings
Acknowledge their fears as real, even if you don’t fully understand them.
4. Encourage treatment
Gently suggest therapy or counseling, and offer to support them in the process.
5. Set supportive boundaries
It’s okay to say no to unreasonable requests or rituals. Support without enabling.
6. Practice co-regulation
Try breathing or grounding exercises together to help both nervous systems settle.
7. Don’t play therapist
Offer empathy, not solutions. Let professionals guide treatment.
8. Keep your own life
Maintain friendships, hobbies, and self-care to avoid burnout.
9. Communicate openly
Share your feelings honestly and encourage them to do the same.
10. Know when to seek help
If anxiety is straining your relationship, couples therapy can help you both reconnect and build resilience.
Healthy relationships need healthy nervous systems. Let’s work on it together.