Depression is the term used to describe mental health conditions (depressive disorders) that negatively impact a person’s life, leading to the development of a number of debilitating symptoms. One negative symptom of depressive disorders is their impact on relationships. Depression can make the partners of people who are living with depression feel isolated and hopeless in helping their loved ones. For many, identifying and addressing the impacts of depression and relationships is an important part of the treatment and healing process.

Treatment can help people whose relationships have been negatively impacted by depression by using therapy and education on healthy communication, boundary setting, and coping methods in order to overcome the impacts of depression. And, maintain a healthy relationship moving forward.

There Are Many Identifiable Impacts of Depression on Relationships

If you think that depression is negatively affecting your partnership or marriage, you’re not alone. Mental health issues don’t just affect the diagnosed person, they affect their loved ones as well. But, being able to identify these issues can be the determining factor you need to get treatment and therapy for this issue and resolve the problems that depression is causing your relationship. Some signifying factors that depression is negatively impacting your relationship may include:

You’re Self-diagnosing Your Depression as Something Else

Sometimes, depression can negatively impact relationships before a person even knows they’re living with a depressive disorder. Many people can identify that they aren’t feeling themselves, are living with anxiety, or have mood swings. But, they may just misdiagnose these issues as having a hard time, being unhappy with their relationship, hormones, or anything else. But, in reality, a person may be dealing with a depressive disorder and not even know it. So, if your relationship is in danger and you haven’t gotten a mental health diagnosis, it’s worth looking into why you may be experiencing negative emotional symptoms since these may be due to an underlying depressive disorder.

You Don’t Feel Happy in Your Relationship and you Don’t Know Why

Many people who are living with untreated depression may suddenly lose interest in things they once enjoyed – including their relationships. A common impact of depressive disorders is apathy for things that once brought a person joy. This can include hobbies and interests, friends and family, and even partners. This apathy can end up hurting partners in relationships as they may feel unloved and unwanted as a result. But, depression doesn’t have to be the end-all-be-all for the things you used to love.

You’ve Reached Out to Find What you Want in Another Person

It’s not uncommon for people who have depression and are in a relationship to feel numb and apathetic about the things in their life. As a result, they may try to attempt to feel any emotion at all by acting out in drastic ways. Including, having affairs with people outside of their relationship. So, if you’re participating in destructive ways in order just to feel something, you may be hurting your relationship due to depressive symptoms.

Getting Help for Depression and Relationships

Depression doesn’t have to ruin your relationship. It can be avoided if you take the steps to heal and learn the coping mechanisms learned in having a healthy relationship. Furthermore, medications, therapy, and treatments can all help to ease the frequency and severity of depression disorders, giving you a chance to regain a sense of yourself and focus on repairing or maintaining your relationships.

Psychiatrist Boca Raton is an outpatient mental health treatment facility that offers therapy, medication services, and treatment offerings for people dealing with a number of mental health issues, including depressive disorders. Find out more about our programs and services from our website to learn how we can help.