Anxiety and Relationships

People with anxiety issues have more intense bodily responses to situations.  A pounding heart, shortness of breath, tense muscles and difficulty falling asleep at night are common symptoms. Women have twice the rate of anxiety than men and women ages 40 to 59 year old have increasing levels of anxiety.

Relationships and anxiety are often a mixture of feeling and yourself and about your relationship. When we want to be close to someone we are very vulnerable. It doesn't matter how long we've known them, what we've been through together or how great they are. We are still vulnerable because they are the closest to us (our spouse, partner, parents or family member). We are risking more as we show more of ourselves. Sometimes this "dance" means we don't feel calm and safe.

Here are some of the ways anxiety can show up, especially in a relationship:

• eating issues
• in new mothers with excessive worries about parenting or postpartum depression
• acted out with an affair
• anger 
• panic attacks
• flashbacks of previous abuse

To gain freedom from anxiety, email me at  bmasseypcc@hotmail.com or call 245-9610 ext. 3.