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How to live with a depressed spouse?
Be supportive, but also watch out for yourself
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If your
spouse or
partner has never been a victim of
depression,
consider yourself lucky. In other words, at some point you
will be in a situation when your partner is depressed - in
many cases, he or she might not even know if that is the case.
Marriage counseling coach Nancy Wasson has a few excellent
tips for a spouse living with a depressed mate: |
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De-personalize
your spouse's behavior. Remind yourself that your mate
is ill -- and that's different from being stubborn for
the sake of being stubborn or deliberately trying to
make your life difficult. |
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Try to remember
that your mate's perception,
attitude, actions, patience and stamina are being impacted
in major ways by the
depression. When people are depressed, they often blame
everyone else for their problems and see only the negatives in
daily life. This is about the depression -- not about you. |
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Try to
laugh every day to help keep the negative effects of
depression at bay.
Read
inspirational books or listen to inspirational
audios and
music each day.Eat
right,
exercise, get enough
sleep,
stay in close contact with friends, participate in
activities that bring you pleasure and
keep your spiritual connection strong.
Take
time for yourself so that you can read, listen to music,
meditate, and pray. You'll have to be consistently
proactive about your own emotional, physical, and
spiritual health if you're going to survive your mate's
depression intact. |
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Make an
appointment for individual counseling before you feel like
you're at the end of your rope. It's normal to feel resentful
and angry that your personal life and family life are being so
radically impacted by your mate's depression. You're in this
for the long haul, so take the necessary steps to ensure that
you'll be able to cope. |
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