Jon Armstrong, hubby to Heather, the author of Dooce.com, has written the most amazing blog post called “How I do” about living and loving a woman who battles chronic depression.
One of the biggest and most detrimental side effects to being a partner of someone with a mental illness is that there is the impulse to not share the hard stuff with them for fear they can’t handle it. Likely corollary to that is that the disease is a part of our relationship, meaning it needs its own space. The meds and therapy continue to help, but the disease is always there. I have to be aware of those times where nearly every exchange, every gesture and every non-verbal cue is related to the illness in some way. This adds a burden to any relationship and ours is no different.
I’m no shrink, but if you live with someone who is depressed, that this post is packed with great advice and strategies for taking care of yourself, your partner and your relationship. The post already has 315 comments, which I think speaks to just how important this topic is.
If someone you know is depressed or has a loved one who is, share this post with them.
Bravo, Jon!
Happy New Year! http://tinyurl.com/ysfxpo
My partner has been depressed for many years. I find it depressing myself when politicians try to set policy for hospitals. What is the world coming to? Politician wants to fine hospitals if patients contract infections during treatments
A leading U.K. politician wants the government to fine hospitals for each patient who contracts an infection during their stay. In a speech, David Cameron, a member of Parliament, said English hospitals should lose part of their yearly government payment for each patient if that person contracted MRSA, or Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or another infection, Clostridium difficile, according to a report by the BBC.
By Gene Koprowski, Editor-in-Chief
http://www.care-mates.com/blog/?p=54
I agree–it was an absolutely wonderful post…:)