Your partner is depressed and sometimes you feel as if it’s your fault. You may even feel like you aren’t being a good enough wife in supporting his mental illness. Does his mental illness symptoms show up in your relationship? Do you want tips from a therapist on how to truly support your partner in their healing journey? Do the mental illness symptoms show up in your relationship?

I am here to tell you that it is not for you to take on or fix.

In this podcast episode, I give you tips and cover a whole lot on how to support your partner with a mental illness.

In This Podcast

Summary

• Understand the diagnosis
• Get help for you and your partner
• How to find the right therapist
• Practice self-care

Understand the diagnosis

Dedicate time and energy to understanding your partner’s diagnosis.

If you do not know what they are experiencing, or how their mental illness presents itself, then you may fall into the trap of personalizing their emotions and behaviors as your fault, even though it is not.

Your partner is not depressed because you are not a good enough wife. Your partner is not depressed because you are not enough. Your partner is depressed because of any past pains that are not healed, because of whatever they are currently struggling with, it is not for you to take on and take over. (Veronica Cisneros)

Get help for you and your partner

It is not your job to heal your partner.

You can support them in finding professional help and seeking a counselor, but they need to do the work to heal themselves.

Visit the website Nami to seek professional guidance.

It wasn’t until I started to pull back from wanting to be his caretaker to taking the role of his wife. Don’t get me wrong, it hurt so much to see my husband in this state, but there was not a damn thing I could do to take it away from him. Even more important than that, it was important that I didn’t take it away from him. I needed to allow this to be his process, his path. (Veronica Cisneros)

You can care for your partner and support them, but you cannot fight their battles for them.

The best thing that you can do is support them until they are ready and while they are on their journey to healing.

Get support for yourself as well. Let yourself be helped while you support your partner.

How to find the right therapist

How to look for a therapist:

• Visit the website Psychology Today
• It is better if your partner gets a therapist for themselves. However, you can do it if your partner asks you to
• Go to the tab “types of therapy”
• Find the therapeutic approach that best suits the needs of your partner
• Identify the issues your partner is currently struggling with

It is important that you find a therapist that you know will challenge you, won’t be your friend, and will provide you with skills to support you throughout your journey. (Veronica Cisneros)

Practice self-care

True self-care is knowing when you are struggling and making the time to center and ground yourself. It involves you truly being able to identify how you feel and what you can do to equalize yourself.

Self-care is realizing that even though your partner is struggling, you are too, and you deserve to take the time to care for yourself without guilt.

Practice being honest with what you need from your partner and ask them to do the same because a mental illness alone is not enough to break a marriage, but it can contribute to the bad habits and behaviors that do.

Useful links:

• Marriage Therapist teaches how to heal from Infidelity | EU114
• Nami.org
• Psychology Today 
• RECONNECT WITH YOUR HUSBAND WORKSHOP – SIGN UP NOW – MAY 4TH
• FREE Guide Download – 5 Mistakes to Avoid for a Healthy Marriage
• Join The Empowered and Unapologetic Housewives Club
• Empowered and Unapologetic Instagram Page 

Meet Veronica Cisneros

Hello, my name is Veronica Cisneros, I am a licensed marriage and family therapist for over 7 years, a Group Private Practice owner, a Mother of 3, and married for over 20 years. I help housewives transform their marriage, communicate effectively and build confidence. Like you, I also struggled with cutting through the communication barriers. I felt like there was no reason for my husband and me to feel unhappy because we had it all. We just felt disconnected and our conversations were filled with avoidance, kids’ hobbies, and schedules. 

I’ve helped plenty of couples in my private practice who struggled with similar issues. With my proven strategies and step-by-step skills, I’ve helped hundreds of women reignite their marriages. I am known for helping women step outside of their comfort zones, I don’t do bandaids, I only teach life-changing healing methods.

Whether you listen to the podcast, join the free Facebook community, or join our ‘Reconnect with your Husband’ Workshop,  you’re in the right place. Let’s do this together!

Thanks for listening!

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