What to Do When One Marriage Partner is Living with Mental Illness ...

Every marriage is bound to encounter challenges.? Mental illness can be one of those challenges faced by couples.? The good news is that, like every other challenge which married couples face, there are ways to overcome the difficulty.? A person?s response to the mental illness in the marriage can make a tremendous difference in the ability to seek diagnosis, treatment and management for a return to quality of life.

An online article recently outlined some positive strategies for keeping a strong marriage bond when mental illness affects one partner:

• Be an informed partner.? Understand the illness and the treatment, and look for ways to help or support your spouse.

• Keep the marriage relationship a priority.? Date your spouse.? Plan enjoyable activities to share.? Communicate through the day even if it is just a quick phone call, email or text message to say ?I love you?.

• Speak well of one another.? Express appreciation to your spouse on a regular basis and compliment your spouse to others- especially in their hearing.? Be intentional about verbalizing thanks and compliments.

• Marriage is an exclusive relationship ? but not an all-inclusive one.? This relationship will not meet every need in either partner.? When you let go of the expectation that the other person will be the sole source of met needs, much blaming and resentment may be avoided.

• Learn from the challenges you face ? every marriage has them.? Become better rather than bitter by choosing to grow and develop as a person through the difficulties you encounter together.

When mental illness is present it is all too easy to blame every struggle on the affected partner ? but that is neither healthy nor valid.? If you are following the above advice and still find that there is communication or other relational struggles, it is an investment in the marriage to seek out diagnosis and treatment if mental illness is present. Family Guidance Center offers assessments on a walk-in basis to help start the process of treating and managing the symptoms of mental illness, and can help you include mental health into your overall wellness.

Like this:

Be the first to like this.

Posted in Mental Health, Mental Illness | Tagged family guidance, Family Guidance Center, marriage and mental illness, mental health, mental health care, mental health problems, mental illness, mental illness in marriage, spouse with mental illness | Leave a Comment

Source: http://familyguidancecenter.wordpress.com/2012/08/13/what-to-do-when-one-marriage-partner-is-living-with-mental-illness/

sweet potato pie twas the night before christmas norad santa epic beard man nfl standings giants vs jets chargers