Marriage takes work and commitment, especially during the more difficult times. Many challenges can impact marriage, and mental health is undoubtedly one of them. Poor mental health, especially depression, can affect a person and their relationships.
Can depression ruin a marriage? Yes, it can. It is a devastating condition affecting your health, well-being, and livelihood.
When one or both people suffer from depression, finding happiness and fulfillment in being together or apart can feel impossible. Understanding depression and how to heal from it can help you save your marriage – and save yourself.
What is Depression?
Depression is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, think, and act. Signs of a depressed partner include:
- Fatigue
- Sadness
- Loss of interest in hobbies
- Trou le sleeping
- Low mood
- Feeling hopeless or worthless
- Thoughts of suicide
- Trouble concentrating
Depression can manifest in many ways. They may express negative thoughts and feelings towards themselves and have low self-esteem. Someone with depression may not be interested in your relationship like they used to o may sleep more than usual.
They can also turn to harmful coping mechanisms like self-harm or substance use. Sign such as these indicate depression, and you should seek help.
What Causes Depres ion?
Depression can be caused by genetics, especially if there is a family history of depression. This type of depression is due to a chemical imbalance in the brain. Various combinations ns of medication and therapy can treat depression.
Depression can be a lifelong illness but may also appear sporadically. It can be circumstantial and solely based on different life situations.
Depression can manifest when your work environment is stressful, or the people in your life provide little emotional support. Isolation can also occur when you feel incredibly isolated from others.
Isolation is a symptom of depression because when you’re depressed, it’s harder to relate to the people around you. Weather can also influence mood, and people that suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) get depressed when the seasons change.
Depression may be caused by outside influences, including but not limited to:
- Weight gain
- Changes in physical appearance
- Stress
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Coping with grief
Regardless of the cause of depression, many people experience it at some point in life. That’s why it’s essential to understand what depression is and how to cope with it.
Signs of Depression in Marriage
Lack of Connection
When you feel depressed, it’s hard to want to do much of anything. You may feel like the simplest tasks, such as brushing your teeth or showering, is next to impossible.
Connecting with your spouse or asking them how their day was may be difficult. You m might feel like you have no energy to maintain the relationship and don’t feel like connecting with your partner. This takes a toll on your marriage because you become distant from your partner, further isolating you and contributing to your sadness.
Your depressed spouse may push you away when they are feeling depressed. Consequently, you might feel the following:
- feeling of connection
- miss your spouse
- resent the depression for severing that connection you used to have
- find it more challenging to relate to or know what’s happening in your head
They may not have much to discuss and are like empty, hollow shells of their former selves. You no longer connect with them because you don’t recognize them anymore, which is a t ll-tale sign that the depression has affected your marriage.
Intimacy Issues
One of the first things to suffer when there are issues in a marriage is intimacy. Problems in the bedroom are widespread when depression occurs in the union. When you have depression, every single day feels like a struggle. When you’re experiencing ing symptoms of depression is all-consuming, and being intimate with your spouse is no longer a priority.
It’s no wonder bedroom activities are on the back burner when you’re depressed. You don’t have the energy to engage. You may feel guilty for not being able to be there for your spouse in this way.
Unfortunately, when depression causes issues with intimacy in a marriage, it has dire consequences. Intimacy separates marriage from close friendship; a wedding can start to fall apart without intimacy.
If your spouse is too depressed to engage in intimate bedroom activities, it can leave you disappointed and unwanted. You may even think, what’s wrong with me? In reality, it’s the depression that is cause ng the lack of close intimate connection.
Household Strain
Maintaining a household is stressful, and depression can only add to that stress. Washing the dishes or folding the laundry are chores you can’t do due to a lack o energy. Suffering from depression means you’re probably focusing on making it through the day.
This strains the marriage because one person must take on the household’s heavy load. Especially when you didn’t live together until after you got married, you may experience e more depression after the wedding. Being in a situation you didn’t exactly sign up for can make it hard for a new marriage.
You may feel it’s your responsibility to take care of uncompleted tasks. Whether it’s cleaning up around the house, taking care of the pets, putting gas in the car, or taking out the trash, small tasks can start to add up when you’re taking care of every one of them.
Marriage is Making You Depressed
It’s a vicious cycle in a marriage where one or both people suffer from depression. The relationship difficulties caused by depression can worsen your or your spouse’s recession.
When the relationship feels more complicated than usual, it can take a toll on your mind, body, and spirit, not to mention that anxiety can worsen.
When the relationship feels more complicated than usual, it’s no wonder that depression and anxiety can strike. You may see more fights and arguments in the relationship and feel emotionally drained.
If you’re feeling depressed, likely, you don’t have the willpower to communicate effectively. It’s natural to want to give up the effort when your spouse complains about the marriage, but you don’t have the energy to fix things.
Marriage should add to your life and make you feel happier, but with depression and anxiety, it can be harder to move through your challenges. Depression in marriage is brutal, even more so when the wedding itself is the source o the depression.
Spouse vs. Therapist
Another symptom of depression in marriage is when a spouse has to act more like a therapist than a spouse. It is perfectly normal for spouses to talk about their feelings, but speaking through depression can be too much for someone who isn’t trained.
Feelings of depression can be constant and all they think about, so it can become a chore to have a conversation when it’s all they can talk about. It can also cause anxiety, making you not want to start a conversation so that you don t have to talk about it.
These conversations and feelings are not uncommon when married to someone with depression. However, it’s essential to remember that you aren’t professionally trained to handle everything that comes with depression. It’s okay to encourage your partner to seek professional help.
Feeling Helpless
Feeli gs of helplessness are standard in depression and do not stop after you say your vows. It can appear as pre-wedding depression like you’re just going through the motions without excitement or happiness.
And it can seem like depression after marriage when you realize you are both the same people as before, just with a ring and a piece of paper. These feelings are not your fault or your partner’s fault but a symptom of an illness. These feelings may come and go, making it even more challenging to narrow down what you’re feeling.
When your partner has these feelings of helplessness, it is only natural for you to want to help as much as possible. You might sit and talk with them or try to help them solve their problems. You might go out of your way to give them gifts or take them out to encourage a new perspective.
You may feel like there is no way out of depression, whether you are experiencing it o your partner is experiencing it. But you can only do this without noticeable change before it wears you down.
This can make you feel helpless as if nothing you do is working. Feeling powerless can negatively impact your marriage because you no longer feel like y you have control over the situation.
Alone in the Marriage
Depression is an incredibly lonely and isolating experience. You feel alone as an individual, but when you are depressed, you also feel alone in the marriage. It may feel like you are the only person suffering; no one truly understands you.
You may also feel like your partner doesn’t know how to help. They may even make things worse to help you feel better. This can cause e a downward spiral because it feels like the one person in your life who is supposed to be there for you in sickness and health doesn’t know how to.
Feelings of loneliness in the marriage often cause marital depression. There’s a snow ll effect because the more distant you feel from your partner, the more it adds to your nuptial depression.
When married to someone with depression, you may also feel very alone. You may feel as if you are constantly supporting the other person and helping them out in any way but with no luck or change in the situation.
You may feel guilty because you know your spouse is not depressed on purpose. However, you still feel negatively towards them. This may cause resentment and guilt because although you know your spouse cannot help the depression, you still feel resentful towards them.
When you are feeling alone in the marriage because of depression, it can cause a marriage breakdown. Maybe you wish your spouse would get the help they need, which is causing resentment. Maybe your spouse is already getting help, but it doesn’t seem to be doing much, so you drift farther apart.
Healing the Marriage
Address Source of Depression
The first step in healing the marriage is to address the source of the depression. You can ask yourself, is my marriage making me depressed? If the answer is yes, ask yo self: Do I believe the depression ruined my marriage? These are great places to start because they will force you to address whether or not the depression stems from the wedding itself.
If your marriage is causing depression, some serious intervention must be taken. Uncovering the source of depression may also help you realize that even though the dep session seems to stem from an unhappy marriage, it could also be caused by external factors like genetics or life circumstances. These are essential questions to consider when figuring out how to heal from depression.
It’s important to note that only the person suffering from depression can genuinely address the source of their depression. Part of managing the source of depression is to fight against the depression and find the energy to do some self-reflection.
First, make an appointment with your primary care doctor to rule out any medical cause, such as vitamin deficiencies or hormone imbalances. If this does not explain where your depression is coming from, the next step would be o seek a mental health professional.
Couples Therapy
A trained professional therapist can talk about depression and give you the tools to help. Their education and experience allow them to talk to people about their mental health problems.
They can have the hard conversations someone may need but aren’t comfortable having with their spouse. Getting to the root of the problem helps heal the situation rather than have it eat away at the marriage.
Therapists are neutral parties not personally involved in your life, so they can give excellent insights that you might not be able to think of on your own. Going to individual and couples therapy for depression can also help with other things stressing you out that may be contributing to your depression.
Medication
Medication is a great way to combat depression. If your spouse is depressed and seems resistant to taking medication, you can gently remind them that medication is there to help, and sometimes it’s only temporary.
There is no shame in taking the medication, even if it’s just for a short while, to help you get through a rough patch.
Taking medication to alleviate the symptoms of depression can help the marriage recover immensely. If you are treating the depression at its root cause with medication, it may take 4-6 weeks to see any noticeable changes in feelings and behavior. There may be a trial and error because drugs work differently for different people.
I you or your spouse decides to go on medication for depression, consider it a step in the right direction for your marriage. Being patient when taking the medication route is essential because it can be very effective if given the proper amount of Time to work.
Be communicative with your prescribing doctor, and don’t stop taking the medication suddenly or without advice from your doctor.
Other Forms of Therapy
Medication and therapy are essential healing tools when dealing with depression in marriage, but they are only two parts of the healing process. When your marriage suffers from depression, the person suffering from depression must take better care of themselves.
There are alternative forms of therapy and medicine that you can even practice together. Journaling is a therapeutic way to process your emotions and collect your thoughts.
You can try journaling as a couple or an individual to get your feelings out on paper. Exercising and eating well are also crucial aspects of maintaining good mental health and are both activities you can do together to strengthen the relationship.
You can also seek alternative medicine like massage therapy and chiropractic care if you have the resources. Relaxing your body and mind and promoting healing from within can significantly help y you if you suffer from depression. You could even consider a romantic couples massage to get your marriage back on track!
Give it Time
depression and anxiety, no quick fix can resolve these issues overnight. WithIt is necessary to give yourself and your spouse time through the healing process. With Time, dedication, active listening, communication, and understanding, you can work together to combat depression and heal the marriage.
Conclusion
Tying the knot is one of life’s most joyous events, but a lifelong commitment to sickness and health also means mental health. Dealing with depression in marriage is tough and can significantly strain the relationship.
However, recognizing the signs of depression and knowing how to get help are the best steps to healing the marriage. TDepression is not a manageable illness, but you and your partner can preserve your wedding with the appropriate support and tools. Your marriage will be stronger than ever with a bit of time, effort, and tender loving care.
It’s essential to seek help if you or someone you know is struggling with depression.
