Depression profoundly affects relation. Depression is more than just feeling unhappy or fed up for a few days. But February is a more depressing month than most and puts pressure on relationships. It’s cold, dark and damp and winter has already been going on for 2 months with no sign of ending. We all go through spells of feeling down, but when you’re depressed, you feel persistently sad for weeks or months rather than just a few days. Depression is not trivial. Depression is a genuine health condition. It’s not a sign of weakness or something you can ‘snap out of’ by ‘pulling yourself together’.
You can be depressed because of a conflict with your partner, an event, the situation, physical circumstances, or clinical (chemical, hormonal, biological) factors. It can last days, weeks, months or years. It may be helped with medication. This will not change what you think but at best may reduce the intensity of the feelings.
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Depression affects people in many different ways. It will exacerbate issues in a relationship. It leads to frustration, disappointment, anger and conflict because it is not understood or dealt with properly. Communication becomes harder.
How can you tell if you are depressed? It can cause a wide variety of symptoms. Symptoms can range from lasting feelings of sadness and hopelessness to losing interest in the things you used to enjoy and care about. You might change how you see and interact with your partner or family. You may feel tearful or anxious or feel lost, trapped or helpless. You may feel a failure or that you have failed others. There can be physical symptoms too, such as feeling constantly tired, sleeping badly, having no appetite or sex drive and complaining of various aches and pains.
The severity of the symptoms can vary. At its mildest, you may simply feel persistently low in spirit. At its most severe, depression can make you feel suicidal and that life is no longer worth living.
The good news is that with relationship counselling for depression, providing the right treatment and support, many people and relationships can recover from depression. You can come on your own or with your partner. Counselling for depression leads to understanding yourself and each other and help the relationship. Small changes in understanding and behaviour can dramatically improve and even overcome the situation. Through awareness and understanding we can sometimes make real choices and experience change.