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@Alisa barre chords like many things which are difficult at first often get a bad rap. My advice for them, and this certainly worked for me, is to do the following to build up strength and technique in your index finger:
1. Practice barring the highest three strings (G, B and high E) only and pick each of those strings making sure you get a clean tone from each. Then strum the 3 strings in unison. Do this on the 5th fret where tension is lower than at frets 1-3.
2. Release the pressure and then move up to the 6th fret and repeat. Repeat on frets 7 and 8.
3. Do this whole exercise for a couple of minutes at most, and be sure to release the pressure each time you move to a new fret, this will help prevent your finger cramping.
4. Once you’re (more) comfortable with doing this on the 3 highest strings, repeat the process by barring the 4 highest strings (high D, G, B and high E). Rinse and repeat with barring 5 strings and then all six.
5. Make sure you watch Tony’s video lesson on barre chords as well. https://tonypolecastro.com/courses/better-barre-chords/#learndash-course-content 🙂