Posted On 14 Jan 2021

Anxiety and Stress

Our relationships with others, whether it be our spouse, children, parents, in-laws, co-workers, or a host of many other types of relationships can cause anxiety and stress. A good and healthy relationship should be well-balanced and amicable between the parties involved. But when a relationship becomes one-sided, smothering, demanding, or disrespectful it can create extreme anxiety and stress-producing situations.

In any relationship in which another person does not respect another person’s feelings, property, or rights, a person feels violated. The feelings that come from unhealthy relationships cause many emotions such as anger, aggression, depression, and resentment as well as an enormous amount of anxiety and stress.

In unhealthy marriage relationships, anxiety can be very profound as a partner may feel that they have nowhere to turn and that they must stay committed to the relationship due to many factors.

Another factor most individuals forget is the cumulative effect of holding on to emotions and stress. If you continuously hold on to feelings and emotions, you’ll be storing that in your body which will develop into aches and other body ailments.  For example, if you feel “pissed off”, you might develop incontinence.  If you feel unsupported, you might develop back pains…just something to keep in mind.

In abusive relationships, anxiety and stress are even more pronounced as a person is controlled, manipulated, and isolated. A person in these types of unhealthy relationships experiences extreme amounts of anxiety in that they are unsure of how to escape such a bad situation and equally more stressful when children are involved.

A person can also experience anxiety and stress due to other significant others in their family such as relationships with their children which are either distant, where there are behavioral or discipline issues, or a myriad of other factors. There can be problems with extended family whether it be a controlling in-law or dislike between members of a family. Think family reunions and holiday gatherings.

Relationship problems in the workplace involving co-workers or bosses can be very anxiety and stress-producing as a person can have a hard time being productive and motivated in an environment in which there is distaste coupled with having to work in such close proximity on a daily basis and having to endure such an environment because you depend on the paycheck!

I remember having to work with a project manager that was a tyrant.  On one occasion, we had a meeting at 9:00 a.m., and right before it started, they found that the projector didn’t work.  They were trying to make it work and everybody in the room knew about the problem, including the manager. This manager, got up and said, “so, what time is our 9:00 a.m. meeting starting?” in a very sarcastic voice.

Talk about anxiety and stress! Everybody working on that project hated him and couldn’t wait to get off it. This is just an example to mention but there are many other types of relationships that can be unhealthy and cause a person undue anxiety and stress.

Unhealthy relationships break down a person’s character and create unnecessary anxiety and stress that are not felt in healthy relationships. Sometimes, people feel that they must endure the situation because they just don’t see a way out.  But there is a way out…just have to seek help and know that it’s always your choice. It’s all about responding to the situation versus reacting.

We should seek out healthy relationships as it creates harmony, contentment, and happiness but instead, we are drawn to those that cause us anxiety and stress!

By recognizing unhealthy relationships we can be better equipped in moving toward a more positive direction and eliminating these negative relationships which only create anxiety and stress us out as well as create negativity around us and within ourselves. Sometimes it is hard to recognize that you may be in an unhealthy relationship as there are good times to go with the bad, but being able to identify that a relationship is unhealthy is the first step toward happiness and peace.