When we are in a relationship with another person, we take on their trials and traumas as our own. And when we meet someone that is depressed and endeavor into a relationship with them, the same holds true: their depression becomes your depression.
However, that isn’t to say that it is difficult to love someone that is depressed. Actually, on the contrary, it can be quite simple, but it does deserve special attention to certain details.
There will be days that your partner will be so overwhelmingly sad that you will feel helpless to try to make them feel better. However, don’t give up on them, just understand that you haven’t done anything wrong. This is just how it is sometimes.
And understand that if they need alone time, it isn’t because they don’t love you. They simply need to self-medicate in the only way the know how to: to get away from it all, and reassess themselves.
Sometimes, your depressed partner may not say much. There is so much going on inside of their mind that they can’t come up with the words necessary to make a sentence that feels worth expressing.
And when they cry, don’t tell them to stop. Let them cry.
However, just because they are depressed doesn’t mean they can’t benefit from a loving embrace. Actually, it is probably a good idea to hold them, and just listen from time to time.
Because a person who is depressed is full of love. You see, they feel EVERYTHING immensely, not just pain. And they will love you in a way you never thought possible.
Why? Because in their mind, despite their illness, you chose them. You loved them enough to stand by their side and to support them, which is a task you could never fully understand.
Most of all, remember that they can’t stop being the way that they are, so please, don’t tell them to cheer up.
And in their darkest moments, just be there. In spite of them laying in the bed, crying their eyes out, choose to look past the bad and love them for the good.
When they reach out to you for help, don’t turn them away.
And when they lay there with a look on their face that tells you they are lost, understand that they are.
And whatever you have to do, please find them.
Because underneath it all, they are human just like you. And they can’t help their illness. But, past their illness, past their sadness, and past their despair, lies a person that is beyond anything you could have ever imagined. Having them in your life is a treasure, and if you choose to uncover that, you will be glad you did.