Are you struggling with depression, and it’s affecting your marriage?
Have you considered couples counseling for depression and marriage?
Counseling can be very useful for couples who need help navigating the fog of depression and want to focus back on their marriage.
How Depression and Marriage Are Linked
There are several ways in which depression negatively impacts a marriage. These include:
- Less or no communication between each other
- Harder to enjoy touching moments together
- Lack of desire or difficulty with intimacy
- Periods of gloom where you feel sad and cry
- Feelings of hopelessness
Additionally, many try to “cope” with depression in their own way by using alcohol or drugs. Of course, substance abuse is going to have a very negative impact on any marriage and only amplifies the depression.
That’s why it is important for couples to get counseling together, as this is not a one-sided problem. Rather, it is an issue that affects both partners.
Consider three ways couples counseling helps when you’re depressed.
1. Providing a Safe Place to Talk
Even though the challenges of mental health issues have become more well-known, there is still much stigma towards those struggling with depression. These can hinder you from getting the help that you need.
For example, some of the obstacles include:
- Thinking that you are somehow weak or incapable
- Believing that it is just your problem and that you should be able to “deal with it”
- Being embarrassed when you show depression symptoms such as sobbing or anger
- Not feeling that anyone understand you and what you are going through, even your partner
That’s why therapy is so valuable. During a couples counseling session, your therapist will be able to create an environment where you can feel free to talk and not be judged. This is very helpful for your relationship, as you no longer have to hide your feelings from your partner or pretend that everything is OK when it isn’t.
2. Understanding Your Actions
Have you caught yourself snapping at your spouse, or distancing yourself and pulling away? Your partner may not understand why you are doing these things and, therefore, become confused, even angry.
In couples counseling, you and your mate can learn how these and other actions are not really about your partner. They are about your depression. When you understand why you do these things you can make sure that they don’t happen again in the future. This helps you to avoid causing more damage to your marriage.
3. Getting to the Root of the Problem
When looking back over your life, does it seem as if you have frequently felt down or sad for extended periods of time? It may be that you have had depression longer than you realize. That means that your depression and marriage probably have overlapped each other.
Therapy allows you to get to the root of why you have been depressed. There could be several reasons, for example:
- There may be a family history of depression or mental illness
- You’ve been exposed to a traumatic event multiple events during your childhood
- You recently experienced a trauma or loss that has triggered the depression
When you attend couples counseling for depression and marriage, both you and your spouse can get to the root as to what’s going on. That way, you can move forward and tackle depression head-on as a couple.
Clearly, depression doesn’t just affect you. It impacts everyone around you, especially your life partner. By seeking out couples counseling for depression and marriage simultaneously, both you and your mate can be working on these issues together. As a team, you can lift the fog of depression and instead focus on the things and people that really mean the most to you.