| Caring for Someone with an Anxiety Disorder |
|||||
 |
print this page |  |
email this page | ||
- What are anxiety disorders?
- Symptoms of anxiety disorders
- Causes of anxiety disorders
- Prevention of anxiety disorders
- Risk factors for anxiety disorders
- Complications of anxiety disorders
- When to see a doctor about an anxiety disorder
- Diagnosis of anxiety disorders
- Conventional treatment of anxiety disorders
- Alternative/complementary treatment
- Living with an anxiety disorders
- Caring for someone with an anxiety disorder
Caring for someone with an anxiety disorder
Partner
People who have a partner with an anxiety disorder can help their partner through a number of strategies:
- Avoid alcohol - your partner needs to avoid social situations that include alcohol, because it can interfere with the medication they are taking, which may cause some adverse effects. Additionally, if you partner is not taking any medication, they should also avoid alcohol because their hang-over symptoms will be much worse the next day, especially the psychological symptoms, so try not to have alcohol in the home
- Encourage exercise - if you have similar interests as you partner, you can try to encourage them to exercise more by being their exercise buddy. There are many gyms and other exercise programs you can join together. If you don't have similar interests, you can still encourage your partner to go to a gym or other exercise program with their friends
- Healthy diet - a healthy diet is an absolute must for anyone with an anxiety disorder. Try to limit all processed foods (junk and snack foods) and encourage your partner to eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts, legumes, eggs, wholegrains, dairy (milk, yoghurt and cheese), fish and some red meat. Fish is especially recommended for children with any type of psychological disorder the omega-3 fatty acids help the brain function more correctly. Other good fats that can help the brain are: nuts, eggs, seeds, olive oil, avocado
- Support - most of all, your partner needs your support and encouragement to know that you are there for them. Let your partner know you are available for them to talk about their feelings and will not ridicule or demean them
Advertisement
Friends
People who have a friend with an anxiety disorder can help their friend through a number of strategies:
- Avoid alcohol - your friend needs to avoid social situations that include alcohol, because it can interfere with the medication they are taking, which may cause some adverse effects. Additionally, if you friend is not taking any medication, they should also avoid alcohol because their hang-over symptoms will be much worse the next day, especially the psychological symptoms. So try to engage with your friend in social situation where alcohol is not a major factor
- Encourage exercise - if you have similar interests as you friend, you can try to encourage them to exercise more by being their exercise buddy. There are many gyms and other exercise programs you can join together
- Support - most of all, your friend needs your support and encouragement to know that you are there for them. Let your friend know you are available for them to talk about their feelings
Parents
Parents who have a child with an anxiety disorder can help their child through a number of strategies:
- Exercise - encourage your child to engage in physical activity as this can help to reduce many of their symptoms, will ensure they have a healthy body weight and will increase their social skills (especially if it is a team sport with other children)
- Healthy diet - a healthy diet is an absolute must for anyone with an anxiety disorder. Try to limit all processed foods (junk and snack foods) and encourage your child to eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts, legumes, eggs, wholegrains, dairy (milk, yoghurt and cheese), fish and some red meat. Fish is especially recommended for children with any type of psychological disorder the omega-3 fatty acids help the brain function more correctly. Other good fats that can help the brain are: nuts, eggs, seeds, olive oil, avocado
- Praise your child - when you can see that your child is making any progress in overcoming their anxieties, you can praise your child, as this is a great way of providing positive reinforcement to help your child get better
- Set a schedule and keep it - this is beneficial for children with any type of anxiety disorder, but especially for children with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Children with an anxiety disorder really need to have a schedule that they can rely on, which can keep them grounded and to help them feel more secure about their environment
- Support - most of all, your child needs your support and encouragement to know that you are there for them
- Validate your child - if your child feels anxious, worried or distressed in some way you can validate how they are feeling which can help to connect your child to their feelings and this may help them recognise these feelings as being negative and unnecessary. Examples of validating your child's feelings are: "I can understand that you are feeling a little worried about ..." or "You seem to be a little scared of ..." where the blank part is whatever the child is worried/scared about.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Sections: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12
< 11: living with anxiety disorders Last reviewed: 21 August 2007 || Last updated: 3 January 2009
Related Articles
NOTE: Mega doses of any type of vitamin, mineral, amino acid or herbal supplement cannot cure illnesses and in fact can be very dangerous and produce toxic side effects and interfere with medicine you are taking. Always ensure you consult your doctor before taking any type of complementary supplements.
Disclaimer: This guide is not intended to be used for diagnostic or prescriptive purposes. For any treatment or diagnosis of illness, please see your doctor.
