Tips for helping someone deal with anxiety

[SammiSam]

Hi, my sister is dealing with anxiety which seems to come on for no reason that she can work out. I was wondering if anybody has tips for me to help her overcome her anxious tendencies.

[smallwolf]

Hi SammiSam,

welcome to beyond blue.

I want to thank you for the wanting to the help your sister - not everyone of like that. I think the best place to start would be here...

https://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts/supporting-someone

there is also a K10 test on the beyond blue web site as well to look at. Perhaps the one thing that helps is listening, and I am sure from your post you would be doing that. There are probably lots of tips that could be given, but I would probably give you information overload.

If you have any questions, just reply and I will get back to you when I can.

Tim

[Juliet_84]

I think the most important thing to do is find out what it is that she specifically has anxiety around. It’s also important to keep in mind that she may not tell you the truth the first time as it is personal or may be embarrassing to her. So for me, I have an irrational fear of being trapped in circumstances where I am unable to leave. So the airport can cause me dramas, because I can be stuck on the tarmac and unable to leave or in security etc. I also have anxiety in social situations, so my partner reassures me by telling me that we can leave whenever I want to. The worst thing he could do is tell me “we can’t leave yet, we just got here”, which is a standard reaction. Instead, him telling me that calms me down and then I never even need to leave. It’s just about being there, listening to them, and saying you’ve got them essentially.

[SammiSam]

Thank you Tim and Juliet_84 for your advice and support. I'm going to sit down and talk with my sister to see where her anxiety stems from. I'm sure I'll have some more questions soon. Thank you so much again.

[Doolhof]

Hi SammiSam,

It is wonderful you are wanting to help your sister. I'd like to just suggest one thing, it may be that your sister is not really sure what is actually causing her anxiety, just that she experiences it.

It may take a professional to help her to recognise and understand what issues may be causing her reactions to turn into anxiety.

From what I have read, there are different types of anxiety as well. The more you read, the more you will understand and be able to assist her. You may like to look at beyondblue.org.au/types-of-anxiety.

Wishing you both all the best, from Dools