The Benefits Of Seeing A Therapist For Anxiety

By: Hailey Davis

Updated June 02, 2021

Medically Reviewed By: Nicole Gaines, LPC

The symptoms of anxiety can be very overwhelming and can often seem like they will last a lifetime. Many people with anxiety feel as if they cannot talk to anyone about what they are going through because they are worried no one will relate to them. Anxiety has a way of making people feel isolated and alone in their suffering. Chronic worrying may seem uncommon and even rare, but the truth is, more people have anxiety than many assume. The fear of judgment should not make someone face anxiety alone. A therapist should treat it for anxiety and openly talk about it to help the patient better their relationships.

Source: pexels.com

Why is it Important to See a Therapist for Anxiety?

Anxiety disorders manifest themselves in 40 million adults in the United States every year. This large number does not include children and adolescents or those who face anxiety, but not to the degree of having a disorder, despite feeling completely alone when going through the heart-pounding and racing thoughts caused by anxiety; it is very common. The great news is that anxiety and anxiety disorders are very treatable, as they are constantly being researched.

Considering anxiety is so common amongst adults, researching anxiety has been a top priority for psychologists. Researchers wanted to find both the cause and the solution to the many different anxiety disorders. Thanks to this research, therapists today are well-equipped to help their clients find peace from their worries and fears. Therapy for anxiety is very effective and brings dozens of long-lasting benefits for the patient.

How Therapy Can Help Your Relationships

Severe anxiety can affect all aspects of life, especially relationships. When one or both partners in a relationship have severe anxiety or an anxiety disorder, it can put a serious strain on the pair. Relationships can be challenging even when one of the partners is not going through something difficult. With the introduction of anxiety, conversations can turn into a fight or an anxiety attack every day. Relationships that have one or both partners dealing with anxiety can greatly benefit from attending couples therapy.

Having a healthy relationship is very important, and it's important to set the relationship up for success. Therapy can help the relationship thrive, even if one or both partners have anxiety. Many ways are seeing a therapist for anxiety can help the relationship be successful, but here are just a few:

Reduce Tension Between the Couple

A very common symptom of anxiety disorders is becoming avoidant to arguments, confrontation, or feelings in general. This symptom is specifically called "avoidance coping." This can be harmful with all relationships, but more so with romantic relationships. It is very normal and even healthy to have disagreements in a romantic relationship. Couples have to work out the areas they disagree on, or else the tension can build up and become a heated argument. If one partner is dealing with avoidance coping, it is very likely the relationship will see bigger arguments than normal.

Source: pexels.com

Thankfully, therapists know how to treat avoidance coping, as it is very common and well-researched. A therapist for anxiety can greatly benefit their clients who feel the need to avoid confrontation. They will encourage and educate their client on how to have healthy disagreements without triggering an anxiety attack. A therapist will try different methods, depending on the particular client, to help them learn coping skills when faced with an argument or an uncomfortable conversation.

Help Combat Being Overly Dependent

It is completely normal for someone to depend on their partner to help them get through difficult times. However, if one partner suffers from an anxiety disorder, they may become overly dependent on their partner. For someone with anxiety, it can be easy to look to their partner to feel peace, comfort, and safety. Depending on a romantic partner to an excessive degree is not healthy and can lead to more anxiety attacks for the partner with anxiety.

Licensed therapists are trained to help their clients who tend to be overly dependent on their partners. There are even therapists who specialize in treating anxiety and offer couples counseling for situations like dependency. They can partner with anxiety methods to help them not rely on others for comfort and stability. On the other hand, they can give the other partner information on how to support their partner with anxiety without allowing them to be dependent.

Give Helpful Resources on Diffusing Arguments

During an anxiety attack, people say things they don't mean-especially when in an argument. It is very common for anxiety to take hold of people and cause an even bigger argument. The racing thoughts, fast heart rate, and extreme fear can take a small disagreement and turn it into a fight. Luckily, counselors can help their clients move on from these large fights without sparking an anxiety attack or making the argument worse.

As mentioned above, anxiety is well-researched, and many effective methods have been designed to aid it. Counselors who specialize in anxiety and other mood disorders are highly trained and educated on how to help couples. They give their clients information and tools to use when trying to diffuse an argument that has been affected by anxiety. This will not only help the person with anxiety, but it will also help the couple find healthy ways to disagree.

Help Gain Trust

Anxiety can make someone have trust issues or cause them to worry about what their partner is frequently doing. It can bring out feelings of doubt, insecurities, anger, and other negative emotions involving the relationship. Trust issues in any relationship are not healthy and should be addressed as soon as possible. Someone who has anxiety might have to work through their anxious thoughts before working on their trust issues with their relationship.

Source: pexels.com

The partner suffering from anxiety must realize they are feeling doubtful about their relationship because of their anxiety-not their partner. This is possible with the help of a therapist for anxiety. A licensed counselor can help their clients find the root cause of their anxious thoughts that create trust issues in the relationship. Anxiety shouldn't be the reason a relationship fails. It is possible to get through it and move on from constant worries and suspicions about a relationship.

How Therapy Can Help an Individual

While setting up relationships in your life for success is important, it is even more important to set yourself up for success. The truth is, the most effective way to help the relationships in your life is to help yourself. Anxiety disorders can hinder your everyday quality of life, which can be incredibly exhausting. Seeking help from a licensed therapist for anxiety can not only help your relationships but, more importantly, you.

A therapist can help you push through the struggles that come with anxiety and help you and your relationships flourish. The list of ways of seeing a therapist can help an individual dealing with anxiety is very long. Here are just a few of the most common ways people feel therapists have helped them:

Find Effective Coping Methods

There are dozens of coping methods for anxiety attacks. Unfortunately, not every method will help every person who deals with anxiety regularly. A counselor can work with you to help find the most effective coping methods for you. They will likely ask you questions, get a sense of your personality, and learn more about what causes your anxieties. From their experience and training, your counselor will suggest great coping methods for you to lean on during an anxiety attack.

Help Identify Triggers

Most of the time, anxiety attacks occur because of a triggering event, action, word, etc. These triggers may not be evident to the person struggling with anxiety, but there is a good chance they exist. Therapists can help their clients pinpoint their different triggers by talking through what happened just before an attack. This can help the person with anxiety better understand why they have seemingly random anxiety attacks and help them heal the trigger.

Source: pexels.com

Help Understand What Type of Anxiety Is Occurring

There are many different anxiety disorders, and they all require different treatment plans. To generalize, there are six main anxiety disorders, each having more specific disorders falling underneath their category. The main six are generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), phobias, and agoraphobia. If you have never been to therapy before, you may be unsure what type of anxiety you have or even a disorder. Being properly educated on what you are dealing with and why you feel the way you do is an important step towards healing.

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

While every therapist has their approach to therapy for anxiety, a common treatment method is a cognitive-behavioral therapy. This approach looks at the way thoughts and behaviors cause anxiety. It is very effective as a treatment option for many of the anxiety disorders mentioned above, so many therapists prefer using it with their clients.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy is very difficult to do without proper education or training. It is not something that can be learned about online. This type of therapy must be done by a licensed professional and not by self-treatment. If you are interested in cognitive-behavioral therapy, be sure to look for a therapist who practices it with their clients.

Finding a Therapist for Anxiety

Anxiety disorders affect over 18% of American adults each year, so you are not alone if you face anxiety personally. The good news is that therapy can be a highly effective treatment option for those suffering from anxiety. If you are hesitant about going to therapy because of cost, some options cost as little as $40 per week. Getting the right help is worth every penny, but your mental health is priceless.