Depression Supporters Support Group
This community is dedicated to spouses, children, relatives, co-workers and others who are actively supporting someone suffering from depression or other serious mental illness. Depression can bring about intense sadness, melancholia or despair that has advanced to the point of being disruptive, which can have a grave impact on the ability of others trying to help.
My partner is 3 weeks in to his course of antidepressants, he was signed off work for two weeks and for most of that time he was an absolute joy to be with, it started to look like he was really turning a corner with his depression, and like his ‘old self’ was starting to come back.
Then his return to work was approaching and he seemed to take a nosedive - withdrawn, drinking more, staying up ridiculously late. And today, what should have been his first day back to work, he calls in and says he isn’t ready to go back yet, but he’ll try to be in tomorrow.
It is so hard to sit back and watch him struggling, but I know I cannot fix any of this for him. The action has to come from him. I feel so helpless. And it is so frustrating to see him not looking after himself.
There’s so much more going on in addition to the depression, from self-medicating, to financial problems, to medical complications, and at the moment it just feels like things are never going to get better. I feel like we’re both missing out on the good things in life, because we’re so bogged down in the bad :(
Keep inviting him to do things with you. Even boring stuff like run to the grocery store. He might say no, but it's the invitation that matters. Invite him to fun stuff too, and if he says no, *you* should still go and try to have fun.