All About Maintaining A Healthy Relationship During Mental Illness
                     All About Maintaining A Healthy Relationship During
Mental Illness
Nearly half of adults experience a mental illness at least once in their lifetime. Research and practical
experience by the specialists for  counselling services in Waterloo tells us that mental illness can
result in a person to have decreased quality if life decreased productivity and employment, and even
impaired physical health.
A mental illness - including post-traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder, generalized
anxiety disorder, and alcoholism - can even have an effect on a person’s relationships. There may be
no relationship more affected by mental illness than the intimate relationship between partners.
The following issues are common with couples affected by mental illness, yet no two relationships
are the exact same, so it is essential to take into context your unique relationship so you will be
capable of identifying where you may need additional guidance:
 The risk of co-dependent behaviors
Co-dependency is an unhealthy relationship pattern that manifests as one partner enabling poor
mental health of another person, addiction, and / or coping strategies. The partner of a person with
mental illness may begin to derive their self-worth from the degree to which they are “needed” or
how much they are capable of “taking care” of their loved one.
In  extreme  scenarios,  co-dependency  can  add  to  the  risk  of  abusive  behaviors,  including
manipulation,  name-calling,  and  other  unhealthy  relationship  dynamics.  According  to  family
counselling experts, being familiar with the ways to distinguish the need to encourage and support
with the co-dependent nature of managing the other person’s symptoms will help.
 Intimacy Problems
Having a mental illness can make a person disinterested in sex - either as a result of the condition
itself  and  /  or  as  a  result  of  their  treatment  (decreased  libido  is  a  common  side  effect  of
antidepressant medications). A lot of people with mental health conditions may feel inadequate,
have  performance anxiety  and low self-esteem.  For  both  partners,  this  can  result  in  decreased
opportunity for bonding and lead to unmet needs.
 Shame, Guilt and Resentment
Having a mental illness is hard enough, but the stigma linked to mental health conditions can add an
additional layer of stress for both people in a relationship. The person with a mental illness may feel
shame, embarrassment, or guilt regarding their condition. They may try to hide their symptoms or
fail to seek the help they need.
In the meantime, their partner may feel perplexed or frustrated by their inability to help. In a few
cases, an individual with depression or anxiety for instance, may find it difficult to follow through
with household tasks, have limited emotional availability, struggle to maintain employment, and lack
the desire to socialize.
Having an individual affected by a mental health condition can be navigated in a relationship if both
partners have the essential  skills,  tools,  and awareness to cope and communicate these unique
challenges.
If  you are also one of those affected coupled and are in need of some promising solution,  Coca
Psychotherapy has relationship counselling professionals to help you out in maintaining a healthy
relationship!