How to Help Someone with an Anxiety Disorder

A person who suffers from an anxiety disorder may feel very alone. He may believe that no one understands how he feels, or why he does not want to participate in a particular activity. Occasionally, an anxiety disorder can become so severe that a person becomes unable to function in everyday life. If you can help someone with an anxiety disorder merely feel understood, you will be doing him a great service and giving him a step up on the way out of anxiety.

Instructions

• 1

  Ensure that the person is receiving treatment for his anxiety disorder. A person suffering from anxiety may be too overwhelmed to begin calling therapists and doctors in order to get help. Mental health professionals are often overbooked, and the person you are trying to help may need an advocate in order to get a timely appointment.

  Investigate mental health clinics in your city that offer services at a reduced rate if your friend is having financial difficulty.

• 2

  Educate yourself about anxiety and panic disorder. This will help you to understand what the person is going through on a daily basis. If the person with the anxiety disorder gives you permission, explain to other concerned parties what is occurring so that the person with anxiety won't have to answer endless questions from people who are uneducated about anxiety disorders.

• 3

  Take as much pressure off the person with the anxiety disorder as you can. Too much pressure can make an anxiety disorder worse. Create a calm environment for the person you are helping. Help him to maintain the cleanliness of his home, obtain additional childcare or whatever else it takes for him to have an opportunity to relax. Give the person time for his nervous system to heal.

• 4

  Offer the person some calming music and meditative CDs. Bring him books filled with positive inspiration. Schedule a relaxing massage. Light some aromatherapy candles in his home.

  Encourage him to do an activity that uses the hands and occupies the brain with something besides anxiety. Activities that help with anxiety are playing a musical instrument, yoga, knitting and other physical or hands-on activities.

  Give the person a hug, if appropriate. Hugs can be very comforting to a person with anxiety.

• 5

  Validate the person's feelings. Minimizing feelings by saying things such as, "You'll snap out of it," are not helpful. Say supportive things instead, such as, "I know that you feel like this anxiety will never end. It can be a difficult thing to go through, but I know you're strong enough to get through it and be an even stronger person." Simply knowing that someone understands anxiety feelings can help a person with anxiety disorder.

• 6

  Take care of your own needs. Helping a person with an anxiety disorder takes a great deal of patience. If you are living with the person you are helping, or are otherwise very close, you can become overwhelmed. You have to take care of yourself before you can help another person.