How Does 8 Signs You Have Relationship Anxiety Work?

It’s like having a little worry monster that checks in on your relationships all day long.

Imagine you have a best friend who loves to play hide-and-seek with you every afternoon. But sometimes, when they don’t show up right away, you start thinking: “Did they forget? Are they mad at me?” That’s relationship anxiety, it’s like that worry monster checking in and asking questions even before the game is over.

• If your friend doesn’t reply to your messages fast enough
• If you don’t see them as much as usual
• If they say something that feels a little confusing or sad

It’s like when you’re playing with blocks, and you build a tall tower, but then you hear a loud “Boom!” You might think the tower fell down, even if it just bumped into the table.

Your brain gets really busy trying to figure out what's going on. It’s like your friend is talking in a language you’re still learning, so you start imagining all sorts of things that might be true, but aren’t necessarily.

Sometimes, it feels like there are 8 different ways the worry monster can show up, like 8 different friends who all say, “Hey, do you think they forgot about you?”