
Understanding Anxiety, Treatment for it, and how to Support: A Resource for Family and Friends
If you're reading this it's probably because someone you know and care about has been struggling with some kind of disordered anxiety. Perhaps they're in therapy - or are considering therapy - and you're wanting to better understand what's going on, how therapy can help, and how you can help. Disordered anxiety goes above and beyond the "normal" anxiety we all experience from time to time and can be really challenging (in the most extreme cases, crippling) for people in the throes of it.
I often hear from people I work with that one of the most difficult aspects of struggling with anxiety is that other people just don't "get it". Although the physical symptoms of anxiety are VERY real, anxiety isn't something you can see. It often manifests itself in changes of behavior that just might not make sense to people not dealing with an anxiety disorder of their own. I hear about responses from family members that range from extremely supportive (but enabling) to downright dismissive. Wherever you land on this spectrum, this resource is intended to provide some basic education not only on the anxiety itself, but ways in which you can be supportive and most helpful to the person you know who is working on getting better. I'll answer some common questions and cover symptoms, types of anxiety disorders, what to expect, and how to help.
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