How should you talk to someone with anxiety?
- Educate yourself on the condition.
- Listen and sympathize.
- Don’t take things personally.
- Don’t enable their anxiety.
- Keep communication lines open.
- Recognize when they need professional help.
- Practice your own self-help, too.
When you know someone with an anxiety disorder, it feels natural to want to help. At the same time, it might also feel overwhelming if you don’t know what to do.
While it can seem daunting at first, talking to someone who has Anxiety doesn’t have to be hard. Here are some anxiety disorder tips for talking to someone with the condition.
Educate yourself on the condition
Despite how common Anxiety is, there’s still a stigma that surrounds it. And as with all stigmas, facts about the disorder are shrouded in many misconceptions. It’s not unusual for you to be concerned about saying or doing the wrong thing, but there’s no need to worry.
Turn to books, the Internet, or reliable experts for at least a basic grasp of what Anxiety is, how it manifests in different kinds of people, and how people with Anxiety usually want to be treated. Even if these aren’t specifically tailored to the person you have in mind, they’ll at least help you understand his or her perspective better.
Listen and empathize
When you’re actually having a conversation with someone who has Anxiety, remember that you need to listen—and not just with one ear. You have to make them feel like you are listening. React to their statements, ask them questions, and show that you remember what they told you.
Additionally, don’t expect to completely relate to what the person is going through. Those who don’t have mood or anxiety disorders sometimes assume the disorder is just an extreme version of the state of mind, but it isn’t always like that.
Instead of looking for a way to relate to what your friend is going through, why not empathize with them instead? That doesn’t mean showing them pity, but compassion and understanding.
Don’t take things personally
Anxiety in any form—yes, even the common kind—is a reaction to a perceived threat. People generally react to threats in one of three ways: fight, flight, or freeze. People who choose to “fight” may become aggressive or defensive, while people who choose to “flee” can avoid situations that they don’t like.
Many times, these reactions happen without the person even realizing it. They’re automatic reactions that are strengthened by Anxiety. So if your friend does something that might anger or annoy you, especially when faced with something they don’t really want to do, try taking a step back.
Don’t enable their anxiety
This is a bit more complex and context-specific, but it’s quite important so we’re adding it to the list. As mentioned, people with Anxiety might react to unfavorable situations in unhealthy ways. When this happens, you have a choice of letting it happen and feeding their anxiety further or having them face the problem.
This is particularly delicate because most of the time you have to discern which choice to make. Sometimes your friend might need extra consideration. Other times, maybe they just need to feel supported while they fight their inner demons.
Keep communication lines open
In this day and age, it’s so easy to simply go offline, hang up the phone, or avoid people when you aren’t in the mood for a conversation. We’re not saying that’s a bad thing to do, because everyone has a right to their own privacy and to decide what to do with their time.
Still, remember that to build trust, you have to be there for a person. And people suffering from mental disorders can never predict when they need the support of others. (It’s even likely that too often, they’ve been snubbed by the people they want to support them.)
So if you can, try to keep communication lines open so your friend knows you’re someone they can run to when they need help.
Recognize when they need professional help
At this point, we feel the need to place a disclaimer, especially following the previous section: sometimes, your help is not what they need. Sometimes their problem is bigger than what you can handle, or would only affect your mental health and well-being.
So when that time comes, recognize that it’s okay to recommend getting professional help. You don’t have to have the answers for everything, and it’s good for your friend not to develop a dependence on you as well.
Practice your own self-help, too
Finally, one of the most important things to remember is not to let your friend’s Anxiety affect your state of mind. It’s largely possible that in being there for your friend, you forget to take care of your own self.
So, especially during the conversation itself, keep track of your own emotions. Set boundaries, and know where to draw the line if the conversation is going awry. You don’t have to react negatively to your friend’s defense mechanisms, but you can bring up the occurrence once the situation has calmed down. It’s okay to admit that something they did hurt you—that’s just part of maintaining your emotional state.
Key Takeaway
In this article, we’ve given you some anxiety disorder tips that focus on talking to people who have the condition.
We strongly believe that talking to people with anxiety can help not just the patient, but even those around them. Most of all, doing so raises awareness about mental disorders, leading us further to a more mentally-healthy way of life.
If you know someone who is going through Anxiety or other mental conditions and want to help, contact PERPETUAL HELP MEDICAL CENTER-LAS PINAS today.
PERPETUAL HELP MEDICAL CENTER-LAS PINAS’ Mind Care Center offers psychological assessment, psychotherapy, and counseling to individuals. Our team of psychology experts and clinicians will be glad to help!