In part 1 I talked about the fight and flight arousal response of Anxiety, and how it can cause a sufferer to be in a state of chronic stress and cause the world to “turn inwards”.
Chronic stress is unhealthy, and is also damaging to relationships.
Stress makes people irritable, tense, causes a lack of sleep (increasing irritability), etc. None of these are positive conditions for relationships.
Relationships also require empathy, and a focus on your partner and the idea of “we”. So adding the tendency to focus inwardly and think primarily about yourself compounds the issue.
But that’s not even the worst part; the worst part is probably doubt.
Anxiety can make people question love.
This can happen in two ways – doubt about the feelings someone has for you, or doubt about the feelings you have for someone else.
Doubts about what someone feels for you tends to lead to a need for constant reassurance. When there are doubts about what YOU feel however, the normal response is to withdraw. Anxiety can lead to either of these types of doubt, and in some cases it can even lead to both.
Daniel Smith talks about this doubt in his book on living with anxiety, and there are also countless other stories of this same sense of doubt.
Here’s one I found particularly poignant:
My depression/anxiety has a particularly pernicious aspect in that my negative thoughts are almost entirely focused on my boyfriend: including thoughts I don’t love him, he isn’t attractive enough, I will never find him sexually attractive and that things will never work out.
This is particularly frustrating because I will have ‘moments of clarity’ either whilst with him or apart from him where I realize all of this thinking is ridiculous, I have an amazing relationship and we have so much in common, and I find him very attractive. Whenever I get to the point of asking myself: ‘do I want to leave the relationship?’ the answer is always a very clear ‘no’ in my head.
Yet my thoughts plague me every time I see him. Sometimes I can shut the thoughts to the back-burner, other times they overwhelm me and I feel incredibly sad. We have been together for a year and half now, and I’m kind of at the end of my tether.
Because this has continued to plague our relationship since its beginning, I’m often forced to ask myself “Is it all just the relationship?” and I don’t know how to get the perspective to figure that out.
I have certainty that I love my boyfriend because I miss him when we are away, I get rushes of pleasure and happiness when we kiss, I relate to him on a really strong intellectual and emotional level. We never have conflict or disagreements, because we hold the same views.
Yet when I’m down I get plagued by recurring thoughts: Is this how I am supposed to be feeling? Do other people feel differently about their partners? I should be feeling more, shouldn’t I? Do I find him attractive? If I don’t find him attractive now, does that mean it is all a lie? Have I tricked myself into feeling this way? If the sex was average, does that mean our sex life is terrible? Maybe we have no physical chemistry? etc etc
I then feel guilt and sadness for being unable to figure out my feelings and for having doubts. After all, it isn’t really fair to him is it? Then there is a cycle of questioning: Do I really love him? Am I wasting my time?
Then when I think of breaking up with him, I get another rush of sadness and guilt because part of me really doesn’t want to, even though another part of me is sick of the doubt and would rather leave to end it all.
The problem with doubt is that it can be very destructive. Like many things, relationships are all about effort. What you get out of them is very closely related to what you put in.
When you doubt, you are less likely to invest the time or effort in a relationship that it requires. After all, why put effort into something that isn’t going to work out anyhow? But by not putting the effort in, you all but ensure the relationships failure (or at the very least minimize the level of satisfaction you are able to have).
This sense of doubt that anxiety can create is perhaps the most damaging aspect of the condition. Incidentally, the person who wrote the story above found that after trying medication (SSRI’s) the doubts cleared up, resulting in a happier and healthier relationship.
The “Dance” of Doubt
The doubt comes from the combination of catastrophizing and rumination, and creates a pattern of doubt and withdrawal:
- Mounting Uncertainty. Anxiety leads someone to question the feelings they have for their partner. Maybe it’s not actually love. Maybe it was just infatuation, desperation or loneliness. Maybe this relationships is not what they really want
- Withdrawal. Due to doubts about the relationship, you withdraw from the relationship emotionally, and stop putting any effort in. Or worse, you may become outright neglectful or hostile in a passive aggressive way of expressing unhappiness in the relationship.
- Blowback. The behavior displayed while withdrawing causes the relationship to start to break down. Arguments start, and the environment starts to become toxic for both partners
- Retreat. Realizing the damage that is being done, the anxious partner starts trying to repair the damage.
This process continually repeats, as the anxiety leads the relationship to go through cycles that do increasing amounts of damage to the relationships each time. Left unchecked, it can destroy the relationship.
In his book Daniel Smith describes his own experience with this process:
Over and over again, I pushed Joanna away and pulled her back, drawing her into an abusive four-step dance.
First, I would grow increasingly uncertain. “Was I truly in love with Joanna?” I would ask myself. How could I be when we didn’t appreciate all the same books, the same music, the same movies? Was it possible that what I called love had been merely infatuation, lust, desire?
Second, torn by my doubts, I would grow withdrawn and sullen, even openly hostile. I would ignore Joanna, make nasty little remarks, put her down in front of her friends.
Third, Joanna would start to fight back. Neglected and mistreated, she would respond with anger and sadness. Why was I being so cruel? What had she done to deserve this?
Fourth, horrified by my behavior, I would try urgently and with great remorse to repair the damage. I’d buy her flowers, send her cute messages during the day, hang on her every word.
Then, after a short respite, the dance would begin again.
The Breakdown of Intimacy
What is intimacy? Though they are often used interchangeably, intimacy and sex are NOT the same thing.
Intimacy is about closeness, and connection. It requires vulnerability, and a willingness to open yourself up to the other person. Intimacy requires trust.
Well, what is anxiety?
Anxiety is a condition that causes chronic stress and tension, and causes people to overthink and imagine the worst in situations. It causes doubt, and fear. It leads people to put up emotional walls to “protect” themselves, pushing people away instead of letting them in.
A common complaint of anxiety sufferers is the sense of being “uncomfortable in my own skin”. The hypersensitivity to the outside environment also extends itself to a sense of self, and a feeling of self-consciousness around others about how they look.
With this discomfort in your own skin there is a tendency to pull away. Touch, seen as a sign of closeness and comfort for most people, is often a source of discomfort for people with anxiety.
Anxiety can create almost the polar opposite of the conditions required for intimacy.
Behaviors impacting Relationships
Anxiety can lead to a number of different actions and behaviors which sabotage and break down love (list copied from the site referenced):
- Cling – When we feel anxious, our tendency may be to act desperate toward our partner. We may stop feeling like the independent, strong people we were when we entered the relationship. As a result, we may find ourselves falling apart easily, acting jealous or insecure or no longer engaging in independent activities.
- Control – When we feel threatened, we may attempt to dominate or control our partner. We may set rules about what they can and can’t do just to alleviate our own feelings of insecurity or anxiousness. This behavior can alienate our partner and breed resentment.
- Reject – If we feel worried about our relationship, one defense we may turn to is aloofness. We may become cold or rejecting to protect ourselves or to beat our partner to the punch. These actions can be subtle or overt, yet it is almost always a sure way to force distance or to stir up insecurity in our partner.
- Withhold – Sometimes, as opposed to explicit rejection, we tend to withhold from our partner when we feel anxious or afraid. Perhaps things have gotten close, and we feel stirred up, so we retreat. We hold back little affections or give up on some aspect of our relationship altogether. Withholding may seem like a passive act, but it is one of the quietest killers of passion and attraction in a relationship.
- Punish – Sometimes, our response to our anxiety is more aggressive, and we actually punish, taking our feelings out on our partner. We may yell and scream or give our partner the cold shoulder. It’s important to pay attention to how much our actions are a response to our partner and how much are they a response to our critical inner voice.
- Retreat – When we feel scared in a relationship, we may give up real acts of love and intimacy and retreat into a “fantasy bond.” A fantasy bond is an illusion of connection that replaces real acts of love. In this state of fantasy, we focus on form over substance. We may stay in the relationship to feel secure but give up on the vital parts of relating. In a fantasy bond, we often engage in many of the destructive behaviors mentioned above as a means to create distance and defend ourselves against the anxiety that naturally comes with feeling free and in love.
Anxiety and Sex
Intimacy and sex are two different things, and in a relationship intimacy is much more important. But maintaining a sex life is actually pretty damned important too.
Not surprisingly, Anxiety can also get in the way of the sexual side of a relationship.
Anxiety is an overwhelming form of daily stress. Many find that living with anxiety daily causes them to experience significant sadness and discomfort in their daily life, often leading to less enjoyment of the things that previously caused them happiness.
That’s why when you have anxiety, it’s not uncommon to also have a low libido. Your sex drive is directly affected by the way you feel, and anxiety is the type of condition that can make it hard to find your partner or the idea of lovemaking to be arousing.
–calmclinic.com
When anxiety impacts the sexual side of a relationship Calmclinic.com suggests the following:
When anxiety affects your arousal, don’t try to hide it. Trying to hide it and overcome it causes further stress, because you’ll find that you try too hard to get aroused. Arousal is an automatic function, and not something you can force, so the more you try to force it the harder it gets. If you talk to your partner about it, you’ll find that the added pressure of knowing that you’re open about the problem takes some of the stress off of you.
Extended time away from an active sex life can put strain on your relationship and potentially lead to more stress. If possible, try to make love anyway for fun. Talk to your partner, and don’t make it a stressful event. Make it something you do to keep your sex life going and try to remember the enjoyment you experience when you do get aroused. If making love isn’t physically possible, at the very least you should spend time being romantic and having fun in an intimate way to at least keep that component a part of your life.
Avoidance
In dealing with sexual problems, calmclinic.com recommends “talking openly with your partner”.
Sound advice.
Unfortunately, for people with anxiety communication is often not a strong suit. Discussing “difficult” issues causes the anxiety response, and it’s hard to deal with issues when the body is in fight or flight mode. As a result, for many anxiety sufferers the “preferred” way of dealing with problems is to simply avoid them.
Avoidance becomes the go-to communication style (though lack of communication style may be more accurate).
Many people say that communication is the foundation of a healthy relationship. Well, if communication is a mark of a healthy relationship, then avoidance is definitely a sign of trouble.
Fighting Back
Anxiety affects many people around the world to varying degrees, and it can put considerable strain on relationships. This isn’t to say that people with anxiety disorders can’t have healthy relationships, as they can. But to do that they need to actively fight back against the anxiety, and recognize that if they are in a relationship then the anxiety is not only affecting them – it also affects their loved ones.
One of the worst things an anxiety sufferer can do is resign themselves to it and say “this is just the way I am”. There is some truth to that, as anxiety sufferers will never get rid of the anxiety. Rather, they have to learn how to manage it instead of allowing it to control their life.
Accepting it will always be there is the first step to a healthy way of managing it. As one sufferer put it:
I think the issue facing many who deal with anxiety is that we want to be cured. We want to go back to that time period we can remember when it didn’t seem to overwhelm our every thought and impact us physically. We want to go back to that time in our relationships when we had no doubts and live there – because it seems as though once doubt sets in, you can’t shake it.
And sure, pills and therapy are fantastic ways to work on anxiety, but I think what we have to realize is anxiety can be managed, not cured.
I’ve found as I’ve worked on accepting that, I’m more receptive to negative thoughts associated with anxiety because I know they will pass – that yes, I have these thoughts which can ravage me emotionally, but that’s all they are – thoughts that my anxiety-distorted brain has come up with. It doesn’t take away the frustration and pain of having them, but makes them much easier to bear.
The next thing to do is educate yourself. The danger of anxiety is in that it is an automatic response or irrational thought. Increasing your knowledge of anxiety allows you to differentiate between rational and anxious thought.
One of the leading treatments for anxiety is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). CBT takes the approach that thoughts and feelings affect behavior. Anxiety is based off of irrational thought, or cognitive distortions. So identifying these negative thoughts allows you to “fight back” against them.
There are also medications that can be used to treat anxiety and depression, and they can be helpful and even necessary at times (as anxiety is often tied to imbalances is brain chemicals like serotonin and dopamine). My personal opinion is that medication alone is never enough. It can help get anxiety down to a low enough level to start working on changing the underlying thought process. But without that work, you are simply masking the problem. And medication has a tendency to become less effective over time.
Anxiety is a very difficult condition, and not one that can be understood by non-sufferers. It’s not as simple as “don’t worry so much”, though it can often seem that way to outsiders.
But it is true that it’s “in someone’s head”, as it is a condition that originates in broken thinking patterns. Changing those thoughts and mindsets takes time and dedication. But the cost of not doing so is extremely high, as anxiety can infect all aspects of life.
thezombieshuffle 
Loved this describes many problems my husband has
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Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness, and based on stats that I’ve seen they impact around 15-20% of people in north america.
A buddy of mine who I commonly reference believes that anxiety and depression are likely the leading cause of marital breakdown/divorce, and I can see that.
At 15-20%, the odds of one member of a relationship having an anxiety disorder is actually quite high.
I think the success of the relationship is dependent on:
1) patience and understanding on the part of the non-affected partner
2) a willingness of the affected partner to seek help for their issues and be willing to actively fight back against is.
Anxiety disorders do vary in severity, but if the affected partner won’t put in the work to address the disorder, I believe it’s only a matter of time before the relationship breaks down.
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I completely agree marriage is proof relationship down
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I suspect something was lost in the typing there, but I also wanted to add that one thing about anxiety disorders is that they are treatable.
I find it very sad when relationships that have a lot of good qualities end up failing due to something that is treatable.
Both members of the relationship need to be willing to work.
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Oh ZD2 always a big fan of two people making it work or trying..
I get the theory I am not buying it at least it hasn’t worked for me.
But maybe I am just stubborn only time will tell I guess 😊
I did miss a word in the reply above I meant my marriage is proof the relationship went down, in fire and completely exploded
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I hear you. The theory is always easier than the application. One thing about the application – it only works if both try.
Far too often one or both party spends their effort trying to show why their way is best, and instead of a compromise it’s an attempt to get the other to conform to their needs.
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I can see that but in the throws of infidelity it seems different. Well to me anyway there is no compromising with me. Might be terrible but there isn’t.
If I want to do something it’s happening and he can join or not I don’t really care same with him.
I don’t think my way is best for him anymore or ever even if I am the honest one.
He has his own life to live as I do mine.
If he chooses to sleep around I’m not sure what I would do the next go around
But I have no desire for him to conform to anything about me
But that’s me can’t speak for anyone else 😊
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Yeah, infidelity changes things. Interestingly, statistics show that someone suffering from anxiety or depression is actually more likely to have an affair. It seems to cause a breakdown of empathy, and combined with that a sense of entitlement for meeting thier own needs. Can’t say I get that, but that’s something I’ve read.
Regarding compromise, I don’t think people should have to compromise about everything. There are things that are fundamental to each person where there is no room for compromise, and hopefully those don’t conflict.
For other things though, a healthy relationship would benefit from the ability to define some sort of middle ground, so both peoples needs are being met.
Your spot is a bit different. If I hear you correctly (and I could be totally wrong), you aren’t sure what you really want to do right now. It sounds like you’ve maintained the marriage, but the relationship isn’t in a great spot.
Lots of couples are fine with that, and fall into patterns where they are largely roommates, each living independent lives, and maybe doing things like the occasional trip together.
If that’s fine for both, all the best. The romantic in me thinks that things should be more though. And that no matter where you are, it’s always possible for things to be better.
But hey, I’ll fully acknowledge that I’m a bit of a dreamer.
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I don’t know about maintaining a marriage LOL more like he keeps coming back.
Sometimes I dream of him not returning and me moving on with my life
But I know that’s just denial flight or fight and fligh ting isn’t an option unless we are going to put our children in custody battles
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It’s not their fault I married terribly but I agree with you I want that love on Earth type of deal just not sure how to make that happen or if it’s just self centered thing or a pipe dream for me
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Pingback: What Does it Mean When “The Love is Gone”? | thezombieshuffle
I realize this post is semi-dormant, but I wanted to say that after stumbling on this post a whole lot of bits and pieces that I’ve known about myself for years and other things I’ve more recently stumbled (ha, literally) upon snapped into focus. What had been feeling you a “you and me” problem in our marriage now looks mostly like “me” issues. I need to sit down with myself and completely reevaluate what I see and where we are, tell myself a new story. This is a wonderful thing…
The power of this for me is that if I can “name” the problem, I can cope with it. It doesn’t go away, but how I respond can change completely.
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Hey Jack, the beauty of these posts is that they are never really dormant (for me anyways). And if you read through any more of my blog you will see that there are some recurring themes here involving anxiety, self love, personal emotional development and oh yeah, relationships too.
I’m just a regular guy, but I think maybe I “get” a lot of common personal and relationship issues, and can look at them fairly impartially.
You say that you’re starting to think that “you and me” marriage problems may be mostly “you”. In some ways, that’s a great thing.
I mean, I’m sure it’s still a “you and me” problem, and even if it IS mostly a “you” problem, that will spill over into an “us” problem.
The real powerful thing about your statement though is, the only thing you can actually change is you. And you are the ONLY one who can do that.
If you can see your part in things, and focus on addressing “you”? Well, if that happens I think often a lot of really good things will follow.
Thanks for stumbling across my blog and commenting, and I hope you find some healing in yourself.
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Like this article speaks on, I find that the majority of my anxiety, when I track back to the source of what’s actually going on mentally, I am struggling with the inability to know what will happen, therefore the frustration of not being able to control fate, circumstances, others’ reactions. And when I realize I really can’t, it’s a full body release and I can breathe again. Our society so loves to condemn those that are not controlled, dominant, brazen, and unbreakable. So this fear is very often perpetuated by everyday, subtle and overt condemnations by others and our culture. Awareness of those messages, of our own physical and mental reactions and what they are *really* about, and the act of stepping out of the compulsiveness of those conventions is what has helped me so much.
This is an incredible, insightful piece. And yes – CBT is so effective. And the mindfulness of one’s own thoughts. Thank you for submitting – packed with compassion. You are touching on something sensitive that so many are very afraid to come to terms with and feel they are the only one struggling with.
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Hi Amanda, thank you for taking the time to comment. A was once in a marriage with someone who struggled with anxiety, and I will always believe it contributed significantly to the breakdown of the marriage. I also have a close friend who has struggled with anxiety his whole life. So I have worked hard to try and understand (as much as someone who doesn’t experience it firsthand can). I do think it’s an important topic though. And trying to understand it can go a long way towards making people feel less alone, and helping them understand that sometimes their feelings, while they are real to them, may actually be caused by external things.
I am always a bit worried that I will misrepresent something, or say something that “seems” right to me but isn’t. So I’m happy to hear that you found value in this.
All the best,
Drew
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Interesting article, I have suffered with anxiety for the past 8 months and the initial reason for the anxiety, the trigger if you like has been worked through. I have talked it through and yet I have never had that feeling of relief and that feeling of “Great, lets get back on with enjoying life” like you get after an exam or when a presentation is over.
That underlying anxiety has remained………..the feeling of dread, the depression, the worry over nothing in particular. Then BOOM I managed to search around and around for a reason for this anxiety and at last I managed to anchor it to my relationship!!
Yes!! My anxiety was thrilled!! I could now hold on to this feeling of self hate, worry, anxiety, depression and sadness and project it all on to my relationship. My relationship is fine by the way……my wife expects nothing from me, she knows I am suffering and she supports me., I love both her and my daughter and before my initial trigger there was nothing wrong in our relationship (and there still isn’t) and there was no reason for me to be anxious around her or my gorgeous daughter.
Even though, when I am rational, I know its all anxiety, those rational times are getting fewer and further between………..its a nightmare and neither my wife nor daughter deserve me to feel anxious around them. Even now, when I type, I can see that if I wanted to be alone and if I wanted to be out of this relationship my feelings would be different………..I would be angry or upset……….I’m not and so it must be anxiety hooking me into negative thoughts about the best things in my life in order to try and isolate and destroy me………….I have to accept I am ill, I have to accept anxiety is trying to trick me and I have to learn how to laugh at it…………but its so, so hard.
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If you haven’t read it, I would recommend checking out the book “Monkey Mind: a memoir of anxiety” by Daniel Smith. I think it’s an excellent book, and although I don’t personally suffer from anxiety I know a number of people who are greatly affected by it, so I have lived it second hand and I have spent a considerable amount of time/effort trying to understand it as best I can.
One of the things I thought was fascinating about Monkey Mind is, the author talks about his own “recovery” from anxiety, and how he was able to learn to live with it, and learn to push back against the anxiety. He talks about the “internal critic” (which is basically all the negative/anxious thoughts), and how there is a very brief moment between action and anxiety fight/flight response where the internal critic kicks in – causing the anxious response. In his case, once he learned to recognize this internal critic he was able to learn to silence it. Well, not silence it, but recognize it for what it is and start to take control back. His take is, he will always have anxiety, but it no longer controls his life.
A while back I took a course that talked about the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, and how the fight/flight response is controlled by the sympathetic nervous system. One of the things in the course was that like anything else, the body is designed for efficiency. So the more someone experiences it, the more efficient the body gets at releasing cortisol into the blood stream. This makes it harder and harder to “break” the anxiety response the longer it goes on.
A good friend of mine (who goes by Gandalf in these pages) has struggled with anxiety issues his whole life, and for many years it controlled him. About 3-4 years ago he started really working on beating his anxiety, and while it will always be there it no longer controls him as often.
I guess I just want to say don’t give up hope. Anxiety won’t go away on it’s own, and from everything I know it never really goes away. But if you work at it – understanding it, getting at root issues, retraining thinking habits, working on mindfulness thinking/breathing exercises, you CAN start to lesson the grip it has.
Best of luck
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“try to make love anyway”
This is the worst advice you can give someone dealing with anxiety…
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Hi there, the “try to make love anyway” came from calmclinic.com (I had linked to it and marked it in blue to try and indicate that). Calmclinic.com has a lot of information and advice on anxiety, and although I don’t suffer from anxiety – if you read the paragraph after I hope/think it made sense.
Physical connection is important, and though anxiety Will impact that, it should never go away entirely. It doesn’t necessarily have to be sex, but physical affection still should be present in a relationship. And when it’s not (for extended periods) it puts the relationship itself at risk.
I think that advice was simply about remembering that. Hope that makes sense.
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Im young but i do have a great boyfriend who supports me who tries to understand this messed up thing inside my head an right now it is consuming me to point i have brain fog basically…. I hate doubting my love the way i do because the guy I’m with is amazing caring sweet loving all that there isnt a reason for me to doubt but yet my anxiety has gone off the roof help me….. Somebody
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Hi Tabitha,
If you haven’t read it, I would recommend the book “Monkey Mind – a memoir of anxiety” by Danial Smith. I thought it was a very good book, and a close buddy who has struggled with anxiety his whole life thought it was a valuable read.
I think the fact that you can say “there isn’t a reason for me to doubt” is a positive thing, as it means you are able to tell yourself the things you are feeling is due to the anxiety. That’s an important distinction.
Monkey mind talks about learning to recognize and then silence the “internal critic”. and it sounds to me like you are already on the way to recognizing it.
All the best
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Thank you where can i get the book? I’m just terrified i dont want it to turn into the truth cus i know that could happen it scares me i have the greatest guy ever and my anxiety making me lose feelings… I dont want that i want to be able to feel again…
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You may be able to get it from your public library, but I bought it on amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Monkey-Mind-Anxiety-Daniel-Smith/dp/1439177317/ref=sr_1_1).
Everything I say here comes with the caveat that I don’t have anxiety, so I won’t pretend to “get it”. I have researched it and talked to people who do though, so I’m not completely in the dark here.
You mention it turning into the truth, and depending on what you mean by that, it can be a real risk. With anxiety (and especially the anhedonia that can come with it) feelings can become unreliable, and people can have feel emotionally dead of flat. And the doubt can really start to poison things – especially if it causes you to withdraw from the relationship.
So sadly, there are times that anxiety becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. It creates doubt, which creates withdrawal. That withdrawal creates conflict – which in turn damages the relationship (sometimes irreparably).
It’s important to realize that feelings can’t be trusted, as the anxiety can color them.
Not a great spot. But it is manageable with a bit of education and effort.
Best of luck to you.
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Hello what are main books you woukd reccomend reading for ones with anxiety doubt i relationships like this?
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Hi Tabitha,
unfortunately I haven’t really seen much out there for books that talks about how anxiety can cause relationship doubt, and lead to people leaving/losing relationships that may have actually been quite healthy for them.
I think it’s an issue that goes under reported when you look at the various literature on different anxiety disorders, but from a lot of the things I’ve seen and heard it is very real.
The book I referenced in this post is “Monkey Mind: A memoir of anxiety” by Danial Smith. It’s a good read – funny, sad, and hopefully one that will give people some hope. I picked it up from Amazon a number of years back for around $15-$20. It talks about how anxiety affected his life, and the relationship piece is just a part of it but I think it’s a valuable read.
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This is beautiful. Everything explained in this article is exacly what I have Been feeling for a couple months now. My relationship is my world. I’m a happy go lucky person with a boyfriend that has a heart of gold, and yet I can’t help but see the negatives.. and doubts. I have Always “managed” my anxiety and see a therapist once a week. I’m starting to think an ssri may help, but than my doubts sink in and I think.. “is he worth the medication”.. I personally don’t take medication and an ssri is very scary for me. I meditate And do yoga and play lacrosse at a collegiate level. I’m 22 and I’m terrified of my future. I have all A’s in my classes and already have a job post grad. People on the outside think I have It all figured out and I want To believe that. But it seems impossible for me to find happiness in everything that I know I love. Even family members or people around me. I am A person who loves like no one else. I love Everyone and everything and make them know that. But recently I have Been walking on egg shells when it comes to love. How do i “manage “ this? What do I do? I am Sick of the “do you love him”? Questions of “you’re not going to have a future with him” thoughts. I genu Don’t have feelings for anyone else in this world like I do For this man. In fact, I cant Even find another man or even women attractive. The thought of sex makes me sick and I can’t feel anything when hugging others or sharing a kiss with my boyfriend. I’ve been open to him about this all and he is the most understanding person ever. His advice every day is to “wake up and kick today in the ass, you’re better than that”. And it’s so true and I try So hard but my guilt is overwhelming. Please help.
Much love,
Meaghan xxx
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Hi Meaghan,
First off, I want to thank you for sharing your story. I wrote this post over 2 years ago, and although I’ve written hundreds of other posts this is the one that gets the most traffic. Not many people take the time to comment, but the traffic I get furthers my belief that this is a legitimate issue that is affecting a large number of people. It’s also something I don’t see a lot of information on in the literature on anxiety, so I suspect it’s poorly understood.
Second, I want to be clear that I am no expert here. I’m a regular guy whose marriage fell apart, and as I tried to understand, I came to believe that anxiety was a significant factor in that. I won’t pretend it was the only factor, but I do think anhedonia and “the loss of love” played a big role. And I think sometimes when people do experience feelings of loss of love, it’s actually because their anxiety has changed some of the chemical levels in their brains so that they are less able to feel.
One of the things I find interesting about anhedonia is that people seem to be only able to *feel* the emotions/feelings at the extreme ends of the spectrum. So things like anger and frustration can still be present. But also the extreme feeling of lust that comes with “new love”. A lot of literature I’ve read indicates that this ability to feel lust for someone else often leads people to believe something is wrong with their relationship – after all they can have feelings for someone else. So things like affairs are often seen in depression or anxiety as a coping mechanism, or a “way to feel again”. Not saying you are going down any roads like that, but I think it’s important to understand how extreme emotions can still exist.
A question I would have for you (and you don’t need to answer this to me, though you can if you want) is, do you have any idea what your anxiety stems from? As I tried to understand anxiety better, one of the books I came across was “Monkey Mind – a memoir of anxiety” by Danial Smith. It’s pretty cheap if you can’t find it at a library, and I think it’s fascinating. The author dealt with anxiety his whole life, and it ended up causing him to lose his relationship with his girlfriend due to “lack of love”. He had always believed he was in control of his anxiety, but what was actually happening was he was letting his anxiety control him instead.
From many people I’ve talked to, a common behaviour in anxiety is avoidance. As in, avoiding those things that make you feel anxious, and those are uncomfortable feelings. but over time anxiety just gets it’s claws deeper and deeper into you, and things become less tolerable.
I have a close friend who has “beaten” his anxiety. He still has it, and always will. But he now understands it and has learned to stop letting it control him. He co-wrote a few pieces on this site on self-love, and identity and they may be worth a read for you. He’s an inspiration to me, as he worked with a psychologist and used cognitive behaviour therapy to help address his anxiety. It involved some serious introspection, dedication and a strong desire to change, so it wasn’t easy – but her did it. The growth I’ve seen in him in the past few years is pretty remarkable, so I guess I want to give you hope that you CAN find ways to get through this.
All the best,
Drew
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Oh my gosh …where to start i found this quite by chance
I was married to a wonderful man.thought we were really happy he lost his mum and dad in the last 18 months and at Christmas he ran away after been really depressed for 2 months.he said it is my fault he has not come back and I haven’t seen him since he ran away as he has gone to stay in Morocco at his sisters where he was born.he was the kindest man but is not that man now .he blames me entirely for his problems he has been talking to another woman online which is heart breaking we have been together 8 years.he now has a good psychologist psychotherapist and psychiatrist he has lost 3 stone in weight a d days he hates me.it has ruined me .we have a business here and a good life he is on 3 lots of medication but as yet nothing works and he has cut me out of his life.he was the kindest most loving man and this situation is killing me .he has been put on no dep..maniez 24…and some other meds to slow his brain down called something like anzol but i cznt quite remember …i dont know what to do his anxiety was so bad he ran away.i suspect he had a fling and because of his religion he got worse as they don’t believe in affairs.will he ever get better..it’s now over 7 months and I just don’t know what to do
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Hi Mandy, I don’t really know what to say beyond I’m sorry to hear this, and know you aren’t alone.
It’s amazing to me how many stories I hear where the death of a parent becomes the catalyst for a major depressive episode. And often in these circumstances it leads to a marriage either failing, or being changed forever.
A few years ago I read a book called “depression fallout”, by Anne Sheffield (I believe), and it talks about the impacts of depression from the perspective of the loved ones. It was a very interesting read, though it didn’t paint a very happy picture for people who decide to “stick it out”.
Sadly, there’s nothing you can do. Your husband need to work through whatever he’s working through. He’ll do it at his own speed and in his own way. And he likely won’t care or even consider how his actions are impacting you or those around him.
That’s not to say you are powerless here, but your choices (from my perspective) aren’t great ones.
You either hope that things one day get better, or you walk away on your own. Pretty terrible choices, I know.
From my experiences, my only real advice is remember, these are his choices, not yours. And they don’t reflect on you. Believe in yourself, respect yourself, and set strong boundaries.
However this works out, I hope the best for you.
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I know I am a little late to the party here, but this piece is really really relevant for me, I have struggled with depression and anxiety since meeting my partner (we have been together 4 years and have shared some incredible times together). We are just about to buy a house and plan to have a baby soon – in the last few months when this is getting more real and we are about to commit to huge things together, my mind has gone completely AWOL, I can no longer see things how I did before, everything scares me, I have managed to convince myself it’s all wrong and I need to get out in order to rid myself of this anxiety. It is the worst feeling in the world as I know I want this more than anything I ever have. I have done lots of reading and research and started seeing a counsellor but I don’t dare say these things outloud in case someone tells me I need to leave, as I know that is NOT what I want. My other half is incredible and I want to spend my life with him, for some reason I just cannot control my brain and physical anxiety symptoms. I know I am not unhappy with this man, it is a very different feeling to that. Very difficult to describe but it is eating me up! I am going to try reading Monkey Mind – see if I can gain any knowledge and / or coping mechanisms. I guess I just wanted to say thank you – this post has helped me realise I am not alone.
Hannah xx
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Hi Hannah, I hope the book – or just the knowledge that you aren’t alone, helps.
There are all sorts of people who find their thoughts can kind of become their own enemy. Just believe in yourself here, and what you know to be true.
Remember, feelings are things we are taught to trust. But there are all sorts of things that can cause them to go awry.
All the best!
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I needed this so bad. I’ve been dealing with relationship anxiety as a person with social anxiety disorder, general anxiety disorder, and bipolar with cluster b traits, on top of that I also have PTSD from an abusive relationship that I was in for 4 years. This article has helped me learn about myself and relieves me that I’m not the only one who doubts myself in a relationship.
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