How to Explain Depression & Anxiety to Your Partner
At some point, we will all feel low or nervous. As the seasons of our lives change, it's common to grapple with feelings of depression or anxiousness over the unknown. In fact, anxiety and depression are two of the most common mental health conditions in the world. It's not uncommon for someone to feel anxious over things such as a job interview or a big test coming up. When we experience loss or are just not feeling ourselves, we can feel sad and out of sorts.
However, these feelings of sadness and anxiousness often don't last long, and life returns to normal. Unfortunately, many people worldwide don't have the luxury of these challenging feelings going away. When feelings of hopelessness and anxiousness become chronic, this is when we see more of an impact on someone's overall mental health.
Even though depression and anxiety are common disorders, that doesn't mean everyone fully understands them. It can be challenging to explain depression and anxiety to your partner, especially if they have never struggled with these chronic issues. If this resonates with you, here are some tips to start this conversation.
List What You Want To Talk About
One of the best beginning steps is to list what you want to talk to your partner about. Because mental health still has a stigma attached to it, it can be helpful to try and prepare if your partner has any misconceptions about what mental health struggles are like. It can be helpful to come up with a list such as:
Listing what your most common triggers are.
Ask them what they know about depression and anxiety disorders.
How are you expecting them to react? How do you want them to react?
Be clear about who you want to know about your struggles outside the relationship.
Think of ways your partner can help support you.
Tell Them About Your Experience
Anxiety and depression impact everyone differently. For them, it might be confusing to hear all the symptoms and signs of anxiety or depression. So, instead, talk about how each of these conditions impacts you.
Focusing on your experience with them can help you clarify your specific triggers for your partner as well as how they impact you in your everyday life.
Doing this will help your partner clearly recognize when your anxiety is ramping up, or you are having a bad day with your depression.
Remind Them It's Not Personal
It's not uncommon for someone to take mental health conditions personally. Your partner may feel guilty as if they are contributing to your struggles. Remind them that not every bad day you have is contributed to the relationship.
Of course, be honest if there are things that they do or say that trigger you or make you feel down. But ensure that they know that, for the most part, these feelings are not caused by the relationship itself.
Answer Their Questions
If someone doesn't understand mental health conditions, they will likely have many questions. Answer their questions as honestly as you can. If they bring up anything that seems like a misconception, you can correct them in a kind and understanding way.
By opening up conversations about mental health, it will continue to help de-stigmatize issues such as anxiety and depression. Discussing these deep subjects, in all likelihood, will help you and your partner feel more emotionally connected.
If you or your partner are struggling with their mental health, don't hesitate to reach out to us. At our practice, we specialize in helping couples and individuals heal from anxiety, depression, or whatever else life is throwing their way.
