3 Ways to Successfully Cope with Dating Anxiety

Jul 10, 2019

Dates are a big deal, and so you're worried that you might get overly anxious. You don't want your anxiety to get in the way of having fun and enjoying your life. While it's normal to feel nervous, and many people feel nervous during a date, anxiety is a more intense form of nervousness. Feeling overly anxious or anxious most of the time is draining and frustrating. It can be a self-perpetuating cycle: You experience anxiety during certain situations, and then feel anxious about feeling anxious.

Anxiety is an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and physical changes like increased blood pressure. When it is frequent, it becomes a condition. One form of anxiety is social anxiety, which is a concern for anyone who wants to have a serious relationship.

However, anxiety doesn't have to ruin your romantic life. Being aware of its existence is a great first step in the right direction! Here are 3 ways to cope with dating anxiety so that your dates can be positive and you can experience happiness.

Get anxiety counseling

With social anxiety, there may be traumatic experiences you had that caused you to feel anxiety during situations similar to those in your memories. There may be specific triggers that cause or exacerbate your anxiety. Anxiety counseling can help you reframe similar situations into a more positive outcome as well as become aware of your triggers and how to deal with them. You will gain the confidence you need to stop the negative thoughts and self-talk that exacerbate anxiety symptoms.

Use anxiety therapy tools

There's also cognitive restructuring, which involves practices like CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) and DBT (dialectical behavioral therapy). These are specific forms of anxiety therapy which use imaginal and in vivo exposure strategies.

The imaginal strategy works like this: Using your imagination is critical to success. Visualization has a much greater impact than simply verbal self-coaching or positive thinking. The internalization of a conscious picture of a successful date will remain with you and impress you enough to outweigh the automatic negative thoughts.

Try group therapy

Anxiety is often a manifestation of the chaos one feels in specific areas of their life. It also deals with the ability to be an effective communicator. If one has difficulty communicating, for example, that may also be a cause of anxiety. A group is therefore ideal for anxiety therapy in which you how to be comfortable around people and get to know strangers in a safe setting.

Being with other people with anxiety and being able to relate to them in and of itself can relieve anxiety as you have peer support and can share stories and tips about dealing with anxiety. Not only might group therapy use behavioral strategies but also newer approaches such as Mindfulness and Acceptance-based treatments.

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