How to Support a Spouse with Depression

A spouse having depression can put a strain on your marriage. It is hard to have a husband or a wife who often critical, unhappy, or negative. It is important to separate the person from the mental illness and to offer treatment options to better their chances of experiencing happiness.

How Do I Separate My Spouse From Their Depression?

Remember that the enemy you are battling with is depression and not your spouse. Depression is something beyond their control when they are not doing anything to treat it. Do not let this mental illness tear the two of you apart, but battle it out and come up with ways together to find treatment that will meet with their needs. This can mean taking a walk together, coming with your spouse to their support group meetings or therapy sessions, or making sure that your spouse is taking their medication.

What Can I Say to My Spouse to Ensure Treatment?

It is normally the spouse without depression that feels concern over their spouse. Depression can bring about anger and moments of distress that can be overwhelming for you. Let your spouse know that you hate watching them suffer and want to help. Let your spouse know that they should not be ashamed of having depression and not doing anything about it will only make those symptoms worse. That you want to work as a team and learn as much as you can about this mental health disorder together.

How Can I Get My Spouse to Communicate with Me?

Encourage your spouse to be open to you about their feelings, thoughts, or behaviors and listen to them with no interruption or judgement. You may find it shocking what they have to say like if they question their marriage with you or talk about suicidal thoughts. Wait until their depressive episode is over before thinking about the state of your marriage.

What Does it Mean If My Spouse Has Episodes?

Your spouse will have good periods and bad periods. When you work together to improve your marriage, such as joining couple’s therapy, it should be done when your spouse is in a better mood. If it is taking longer for your spouse to overcome his bad period, speak to a trust friend or therapist when you are feeling overwhelming. By lead your spouse towards treatment for depression, your marriage and love will be strengthened.

Located in Draper, Utah at the base of the beautiful Wasatch Mountains, Corner Canyon works with adults who are over 18 struggling with mental health diagnoses like depression, anxiety, trauma, bi-polar, and other mood disorders seeking treatment. Corner Canyon offers advanced technology to help their clients such as brain balancing technology to better assess the brain for those with PTSD and artificial intelligence to process therapeutic data to deliver a personalized treatment program for all clients. For more information, please call us at 866-399-3469 as we are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

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