Most people who have anxiety don’t wear their worries and fears on their sleeve. We’re conditioned to act confident, even when we’re not. This is what keeps many people from getting the help they need. If you deal with constant worries and fears, a support group is a safe place to talk about what you’re feeling and how your anxiety affects your life. Connecting with other people who understand can be a great source of validation and empowerment. Listening to their stories can help you feel less alone. After several sessions, you may find that you have some new perspectives on life with anxiety.

In this blog post, we’ll discuss eight advantages support groups can bring to adults managing anxiety.

8 advantages support groups can bring to adults managing anxiety

Anxiety thrives when you try to ignore it or hide it. Feeling ashamed about anxiety or awkwardness makes those feelings seem even bigger and harder to deal with. Sharing your experiences in a safe space and listening to other people talk about their anxiety are both therapeutic in their own way. That’s why support groups are so effective. When you have the language to talk about your anxiety, you can start to manage it better. Support groups are also a great place to learn about effective coping skills that really work.

Support groups can provide the following advantages to adults who are managing anxiety:

• Connecting with others who understand — Support groups are a great source of validation for people who have anxiety. Listening to other people’s stories can be very inspiring, and when you share what you’re going through, you may find that you’re not the only one.
• Feeling a sense of community and reducing feelings of loneliness — Support groups are a safe place to connect with people without a major risk of awkwardness or embarrassment. Once you get to know some people in the group, coming back for daily or weekly sessions gives you something to look forward to. You start to feel like your presence is valued, and you may make some new friends. 
• Learning about healthy and effective coping skills — It can take some trial and error to find out what coping skills work for you. In a support group, you get to hear about what’s working for others. You might get inspired to try something that turns out to be really helpful.
• Learning about anxiety disorders and how your mind and body respond — There are likely to be some moments when your group facilitator provides background information about how anxiety conditions affect the brain, the body, and a person’s experience or behavior. You’ll learn about yourself and also about other people’s experiences with anxiety.
• Encouragement and moral support — When you have anxiety, it can be hard to show up for yourself some days. A support group can help you feel empowered to stick to your treatment plan and give you a confidence boost when you need to face your fears.
• Perspective — Support groups are a great source of balanced, unbiased feedback about life situations. You’ll also learn a lot by hearing about what others have learned on their mental health journey.
• Getting connected with resources for people with anxiety — A support group is a community of people with similar experiences and goals. Your psychotherapist is an important source of information. However, the people in your support group may be more likely to recommend resources they’ve used themselves.
• Hope — Support groups can help people feel more optimistic and hopeful about the future. You get to hear about people’s successes as well as their struggles. As you come back for more sessions, you’ll get a sense of your own progress and see what you can do when you put your mind to it.

At Lightfully, we love watching our clients warm up to their support groups and help each other through challenging moments in treatment. People who are shy and timid during their first sessions are usually more willing to share and provide encouragement as time goes on. Most of our clients agree that support groups add a unique and essential dimension to their treatment.

Are you curious to find out what a support group is like? Join us for our free weekly online support group. You can just listen if you like, or you’re welcome to share what’s on your mind.

If you’re considering a more comprehensive anxiety treatment program, please contact us. Let’s talk about your goals for treatment and your options.