How to Talk to Your Partner About Your Mental Health

Keeping your thoughts and feelings to yourself when you are struggling with mental health issues can be exhausting for both you and your spouse.

Common symptoms of mental health disorders include withdrawal from loved ones, excessive fears or guilt, inability to concentrate, constant fatigue, and severe depression.

Without knowing that you are dealing with a mental illness, your partner may think that you are unhappy in your relationship or are pushing them away because you no longer love them.

Therefore, it is often in the best interest of your relationship to confide in your partner about what are you feeling. This way they will be able to help and support you in the best way possible.

Here are 7 tips for mental health communication in relationships and how marriage therapy can help you get closer to your spouse.

Don't Guilt Yourself

Your mental health is incredibly personal. It's something you've probably kept to yourself, or within a small circle of people, for a long time now.

Telling a partner that you have thoughts and feelings that you can't control is hardly easy. You may even begin to feel guilt or shame for your condition.

Take comfort in the fact that you are not alone. According to the World Health Organization, mental health disorders now affect one in four people.

Mental health disorders can be triggered by many things. For example, studies show that lower-income couples are more likely to be negatively affected by stress and mental health disorders than a couple who are more affluent.

A trauma, social media addiction, and romantic separations are also common causes of mental health disorders and declines.

Low Pressure

If the thought of revealing your mental health disorders fills you with dread, try and calm down. Remember that you do not owe anyone an explanation about your health.

However, if you truly love your partner and you have vowed to be together forever and ever, it is part of healthy communication in relationships to share all aspects of your life - even parts of you that may be perceived as different.

In the end, divulging personal information about your mental health is your decision. Nobody can force you to talk about it, so only do so when you are ready.

Practice Makes Perfect

Part of healthy communication in relationships means knowing how to convey your thoughts properly. If you are nervous about having this conversation with your partner, it may be helpful for you to practice what you want to say beforehand.

Seeing a mental health or marriage thrapist can also be extremely helpful. With a therapist, you will be able to discuss how you want to approach the subject with your spouse as well as share any concerns you have about telling your partner.

Choose a Calm Setting

There’s no doubt that sharing this information can be stressful, and the last thing you want to feel is overwhelmed or anxious while trying to explain something to your partner.

If you find that you're too nervous to say the words out loud, there is nothing wrong with writing your spouse a letter or sending a text message to get the conversation started.

If having the conversation in person, you'll want to choose the right moment. Bringing it up when you and your spouse are tired, arguing, or under an irregular amount of stress will not be opportune for sharing something so personal. Instead, choose a moment when you are both feeling happy and relaxed together.

This will help you feel more comfortable being vulnerable with your spouse.

Consider Marriage Therapy

Just as marriage therapy can be helpful for getting your personal thoughts out in the open, it can also be helpful for couples to attend together to discuss the impact of mental health on their marriage.

Counseling can also help couples learn healthy communication in relationships and teach them how to talk about mental health in the future.

Understand the Outcome may not be Ideal

Even if you have a loving and respectful spouse, not all people understand the severity of mental health disorders. Your revelation may be met with confusion, irritation, or such phrases as “You’re just feeling depressed. You’ll be back to your old self in no time!”

Hearing such things can be incredibly frustrating, but don’t give up.

The better you and your spouse get at communicating and empathizing with one another, the easier it will be for them to understand your feelings.

Have Research Ready

After you tell your spouse about your mental health concerns, they will probably have a lot of questions and concerns.

Once you have a general idea of what your partner might ask, have a list ready with answers. This will help in the explanation process.

It is a good idea to anticipate questions, such as:

• How long has this been going on?
• Can you describe what it feels like?
• Is there anything I can do to help?
• Do you have any triggers that I should know about?
• What happened to make you feel this way?
• Are these feelings common?

Your spouse can only understand the situation you are facing as a couple if they are educated about mental health.

Learning about your condition will help both you and your spouse learn how to make healthy adaptions and cope with the changes in your relationship moving forward.

Many are affected by their struggles with mental health. Don't suffer alone. Practice health communication in relationships by seeking marriage therapy. Be open and honest with your spouse about what you’re going through and help them to understand your thoughts and feelings.

By doing this, your relationship will greatly benefit.