People share what it's like to date someone with depression
Having depression is a dark, frustrating disease that often hurts people's confidence and vitality. What many don't acknowledge, however, is the effect depression can have on those who love and care about the people living with it. When a person's boyfriend or girlfriend suffers from depression, that person often accumulates just as much stress as the person with depression. It's so hard to see the people they love fall into such dark states and to feel helpless and worried while it happens. Several boyfriends and girlfriends of people with depression took to Whisper, the popular app that provides an anonymous platform for people to share their most honest thoughts, to share how much their loved ones' depression affects their confidence, health and overall dispositions.
It's tough to find a balance between helping the person you're dating and helping yourself:
Depression can cause huge problems for even the most compatible couples:
It takes a particular type of person to be able to help someone with depression without it affecting their mental health as well:
It's easy to say someone isn't herself during an episode, but people are too complicated to compartmentalize in that way:
While depression isn't contagious, it can cause stress for those close to people with it:
It can make significant others feel helpless and sometimes even at fault:
It sometimes feels like you're competing with your significant other's depression:
While love certainly means a lot, it's not always enough to keep a relationship safe and healthy:
Those who refuse to get help are the hardest to try to help:
Depression can hide people's greatest qualities and strengths:
Significant others shouldn't have to help their loved ones alone. Sometimes they need help figuring out how to help:
It's more pressure than many people realize and can lead to a loss of confidence:
Depression can mess with people's decision making and cause riffs in their relationships:
People feel guilty for not wanting to carry the stress and pressure of another person's depression alone:
It's important for both people in the relationship to communicate and try to do whatever's necessary to ensure the health and safety of both people involved, not just the one with depression:
For more depression confessions, check out Whisper.
Watch this video to learn more about living with depression:
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