Jessica is a content mother of two with a teaching job and a good income. But Jessica’s husband Marc seems to have lost his enthusiasm for life. He works part-time as a website developer and is lackluster in his attitude toward his career. When Marc is home he does very little. He doesn’t engage with the kids often and most of the time he is irritable and quiet. Marc prefers to spend time away from the family alone in the bedroom. When Jessica checks in on him he is sleeping, or trying to sleep, and she notices at night he is also having trouble sleeping. Jessica feels Marc is trying to withdraw from life as much as possible.
Jessica knows something is wrong. Marc’s behavior is different from when they first met. She also knows depression runs in Marc’s family. Marc has told her that when he was young, his mother used to become depressed and drink too much.
So what do you do when your partner is depressed?
First, you need to get information. Depression can be a result of physical illness, it can be situational (a reaction to unhappy circumstances) or because of a biochemical disorder. An appointment with a therapist or doctor is the best way to figure out what may be underlying your partner’s struggle.
While rates of depression are higher in women in comparison to men, depression is a common illness and occurs in both (all) genders, in people of all ages and across all cultures. You can read key facts about depression from the World Health Organization (WHO) here.
Depression is a serious illness and should not be ignored. It is very common for depressed individuals not to seek help for themselves. If your partner is depressed, you need to understand it is not a personality flaw, depression is treatable and even those who have been depressed for months can improve greatly with therapy and sometimes, (if necessary) with the help of medication.
I’m here to help
If you are concerned about your partner’s depression or if you are depressed yourself. You do not need to cope with it alone. Research has shown that therapy is effective for depression. Reach out today and call for an appointment or fill out the contact form and click send.