Anxiety and Phobia Workbook you can work on with
your partner. It has multiple exercises for those who
Practice compromise.
need more structure in managing their anxiety. You can For example, if you want to go to a concert but know
do some of the exercises together to get a better sense your partner hates large crowds, find a smaller, more
of what your partner is going through. intimate venue that won’t heighten their anxiety.
Remind yourself of all of your partner’s good
qualities. Take a hike.
You chose to spend your life with your partner knowing a hike when they get anxious. Anxiety responds to
that they are anxious. Remind yourself of their other exercise, so when you or your partner are feeling
attractive qualities. particularly anxious, it may be a good idea to take a
Keep a journal of your own.
Keep track of your own anxious thoughts and feelings
to have a better understanding of what is triggering
them.
No, that doesn’t mean telling your partner to take
walk, go for a run, or hit the gym.
Encourage your partner to seek professional
help if necessary.
You can assist your partner in setting up an
appointment and going to that first appointment with
him or her.
The bottom line is your spouse’s anxiety is a behavioral
pattern that probably started long before you ever got
together. We love our partners and know them pretty
well, but we may have come into their lives 20 to 30
years after it got started, like walking into a
movie halfway through.
We also have our own interests
and our own faults. Maybe we
are impatient or intolerant.
Remember to treat your spouse
as you would want to be
treated.
Andrew King, PhD
Andrew King, PhD, a psychologist
with Baptist Behavioral Health,
offers some advice for spouses
whose partners are battling anxiety.
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