Accessing Professional Support For Anxiety
If the person with anxiety hasnt been accessing professional support, yet their anxiety is having a significant impact on their day-to-day life, it may be something to think about suggesting to them.
Remind them that many people have experienced anxiety and that there is plenty of support available. Let them know that you will be there to help them during their first appointment and will continue to support them as they work towards feeling better. There are professionals who know how to deal with someone with anxiety and can provide all of the help and support needed to overcome this condition.
You may want to suggest that they start off by visiting their local GP. GPs are there to help with our mental health as well as our physical health, and they are able to provide advice, support and access to specialist treatment providers, like the Priory Group.
You can also suggest that the person starts off their journey by visiting Priory Group. Here, they will be assessed by one of our consultant psychiatrists, who will then work with the person to determine a diagnosis and the most effective treatment path for them at Priory Group. Depending on the person and their anxiety symptoms, this could include a course of therapy sessions, medication, a series of day sessions at one of our centres or an inpatient stay, if deemed necessary.
If you would like to find out more about the treatment that we offer for people with anxiety, please visit our anxiety treatment page.
There Are Many Ways That You Can Choose To Help A Loved One Who Is Experiencing Anxiety
The first way is to recognize what anxiety is and how it works. Its important to understand that it affects everyone in different ways, so learning how it manifests in a person allows you to learn their patterns, which puts you in a better position to assist. If they are feeling anxious, you can directly ask them how anxiety affects them and what they do to feel better. The simple act of listening to them talk about how anxiety affects their everyday life could bring them relief.
The simple act of listening to them talk about how anxiety affects their everyday life could bring them relief.
After learning about what makes them anxious and what makes the anxiety worse or better, asking them how they want to be helped may also be a good idea. Some people just want someone that they can talk to while they feel anxious, others want someone that can do for them what they are trying to avoid. This can get tricky because the goal of helping someone should be helping them overcome what brings them anxiety, instead of enabling anxious behaviors.
Helping them take the first step is a great way to start, but make sure not to pressure them into doing things at a pace that they dont feel comfortable with. Its important to always take their feelings into consideration and work with them.
Supporting someone that has anxiety can get overwhelming, therefore it is always important to put yourself first.
Instead Say: Ive Noticed Youve Been Anxious A Lot Lately And Im Concerned
If you notice your friend getting more and more anxious and you know they havent sought any kind of professional help, its OK to express your concern if it comes from the heart. Focus on how youve seen the anxiety change them: maybe they arent going to concerts anymore even though they used to love live music, or they havent been socializing as much and youre worried about them being lonely. If theyre open to getting help but feel overwhelmed, offer to do some research on good therapists or to wait for them in the lobby during their first appointment. Remind them that anxiety is treatable, even without medication, and that this isnt something they have to fight alone.
If someone confides in you that theyre feeling anxious or having a panic attack, the most important thing to remember is that the feelingsand telling you about themare a big deal. It takes trust to show that kind of vulnerability. Listen and respond in a way that doesnt minimize their experience.
There are definitely times when I havent been heard, when my anxiety has been dismissed or questioned. Ive been subjected to jokes about how me and my fellow Millennials are the Xanax generation or how Im only anxious because U.S. culture is in an age of anxiety, as though everyone feels exactly as I do so I should just suck it up.
Also Check: Is Medical Marijuana Good For Anxiety
Contact Bayview Recovery Today
You see your loved one battle things that you do not understand. They are always anxious, worried, and unable to work through the day without fear. They may even be using drugs and alcohol to help them to get through it all. When this is the case, it is common to want to help a loved one with anxiety to get help. How do you convince them to get that help? At Bayview Recovery, our mental health team is here to help guide and support you through this process.
Dont Say: I Know What You Mean I Had A Panic Attack When I Saw Seattle Rent Prices
Panicking about the absurd cost of that tiny studio apartment makes sense because you need a roof over your head and cant magically increase your salary. Panicking about taking a bus because youre afraid of having a panic attack on said bus doesnt. Theres a difference between the uncomfortable but rational anxiety we all get in stressful situations and the sometimes paralyzing but illogical anxiety super anxious people like me get in situations that arent actually stressful or threatening. People with anxiety disorders experience anxiety over things others wouldnt and with such intensity that it interferes with our ability to function and do things we enjoy. So unless you have a diagnosable anxiety disorder, comparing your anxiety to someone elses isnt helpful.
Recommended Reading: Is Depression A Anxiety Disorder
Instead Say: Im Always Here For You
You dont have to understand what your friend is going through to be there for them. Showing you care will help if your friend is self-conscious about their anxiety or has a hard time opening up about it. Listen without judgment to what they have to say and what their experiences are like. Being there for someone even when you cant relate is a powerful way of showing support.
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Tips On How You Can Help Someone With Depression
- Post author
In its mildest form, depression can simply mean feeling low. For most people, feeling sad from time to time is just a natural part of life.
However, for some of us, feelings of sadness, despair and melancholia are present on a daily basis and can prevent us from living our normal lives.
If you can relate to this, it could mean you are suffering from depression and should seek help from a GP or therapist.
It is nothing to be ashamed of, 1 in 4 of us will experience a mental health issue in our lifetime, and depression is one of the most common illnesses.
However, despite this fact, the stigma that still surrounds mental health can often hinder peoples understanding of depression some may feel awkward towards, or unable to help those who are experiencing it.
Remember that not everybody will feel comfortable asking for help, but there are some signs you can look out for, including :
- Avoidance of social events
- Loss of interest in activities they used to enjoy
- Loss of self-confidence or self-esteem
- Unexplained anger and irritability
- Changes in their appetite/weight.
So what should you do to help and support somebody suffering with depression?
Here are 5 ways in which you can help someone who may be suffering from depression.
What If Your Loved One Is Using Drugs Or Alcohol
Many people with mental health disorders struggle with addiction. Often, addiction can cause the onset of these disorders. Other times, the symptoms of anxiety they feel can dissipate when they use drugs or alcohol. In this way, it works as a type of self-medication and treatment. Yet, drug use is worrisome because it creates its own complications to health. If your loved one with anxiety is using, consider reaching out in a different way.
Describe what you are seeing and the impact it has on your life. Recognize that they may not see their drug use as an addiction but rather a tool for solving their anxiety-related symptoms. For this reason, you need to show them that there is other help available. Guide them towards getting into a treatment program so they can gain mental and physical stability.
At Bayview Recovery, we offer a range of treatment options that can help them including:
Recommended Reading: Can Hypnosis Help With Social Anxiety
Be Patient With Us If We Dont Respond To Texts Or Calls Right Away
Ive noticed people get frustrated with my unresponsiveness when Im in anxiety mode. It doesnt necessarily apply to everyone who deals with anxiety, but in my case, I become reclusive and stay completely in my head. Loved ones sometimes feel like its rude or purposeful when Im really just dealing with anxiety. I wish they would have a little more patience and refrain from seeming frustrated. Im not trying to avoid everyday life or be rude, Im just in my head analyzing things and trying to live life minute by minute as best as I can. Javier Montalvo
Improve Your Next Speech
As mentioned before, practice does make perfect. If you want to improve your public speaking skills, try asking someone to film you during a speech or presentation. Afterwards, watch and observe what you can do to improve yourself next time.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself after every speech:
- Are there any areas for improvement?
- Did I sound or look stressed?
- Did I stumble on my words? Why?
- Was I saying um too often?
- How was the flow of the speech?
Write everything you observed down and keep practicing and improving. In time, youll be able to better manage your fears of public speaking and appear more confident when it counts.
If you want even more tips about public speaking or delivering a great presentation, check out these articles too:
Recommended Reading: How To Help With Panic Attacks Anxiety
They Can Find Change Difficult
Everyone has a comfort zone, anxiety or not. Pushing that comfort zone can be difficult for even the most well-adjusted person, so for people with anxiety it can be even more challenging. This is not to be confused with the sentiment that those with anxiety dislike change or pushing their comfort zones, because they will likely thrive once theyre actually in the process of doing so. They can just find it a lot more difficult to bring themselves to do so.
The one relief people with anxiety tend to get from their anxiety is when theyre allowed to be in their place of comfort with nothing major changing around them. When theyre faced with a big change and uprooting, it can take them a lot longer to settle back down and establish that zone again. Just remember to have a little more patience and understanding for those with anxiety. Theyre trying, they really are.
Encourage Your Loved One To Talk To Someone Who Can Help
Even if you deserve the husband of the year award, your expertise can only go so far. Ive been doing this for years, and I still find myself in over my head when working with someone through a challenging situation. Anxiety can be rooted in years of trauma and neglect and the toxic values we absorb about ourselves. Those ugly beliefs will impact how we relate to people down the road. Its quite possible that your loved one might need support and guidance from a professional. That could be a pastor at church or finding a good therapist .
Often, folks who feel trapped by anxiety need reassurance that theyre worth the time and money investment of professional help. It takes a lot of courage to choose vulnerability and to do the hard work of facing your anxiety. So, be your friends biggest cheerleader. And if its your spouse who needs counseling, you can offer to go together so you can learn tools to support them along their journey.
Read Also: What To Do If You Have Anxiety At School
They Appreciate You Sticking By Them
Anxiety is rough on everyone involved, which means you too. They understand that, they understand their irrationality they understand youve not done some things you wouldve liked to because they couldnt. Theyre not oblivious to what it takes to support them.
If theres one thing in common that youll find across the board for everyone with anxiety, its that they over think they over think a lot. Part of this over thinking always comes back to the people that have supported them, always. Your support doesnt go unmissed no matter how subtle you may think its been.