Have you ever come back to the swollen eyes of your partner? Has it ached your soul to see your partner sad, disturbed, and in pain? Did you try to understand what they were facing? How did you help them? For all you know, there are signs to know if your partner is depressed, and how we can be nice enough to help them through this tough journey.
Mental disorders are still a taboo to talk about in many parts of the world. People tend to have their own reservations and in the process forget they can be the ones facing it too. Here is a list of signs to understand if your partner indeed, is depressed.
Lack of interest in activities
Have you ever planned a cozy movie night and your partner falls asleep? Have they started taking less interest even in day-to-day activities such as cooking, eating, or drinking water? Has too much caffeine and late nights of overthinking entered their schedule? This can be a sign of losing interest in activities they previously enjoyed such as a hobby and is the psychological definition of the initial stages of depression.
Does not want to communicate
Has your partner used the ‘Nothing, I am fine’ phrase too often on you now? Do you feel that they avoid tough conversations and walk out on you when you are saying something important? Has your attentive partner lately been zoned out? These can again point in the direction of signs of depression. So, before you get angry with them, pause and think.
Feels lonely and can be needy
Was your partner the life of a party? An absolute gossipmonger? Not an extrovert but had a dedicated set of friends to go to? What if there are sudden communication gaps, no more parties, and going out, what if your partner has cut off and feels lonely? Sometimes wants you to just leave them alone and other times is clingy to you and asks you to not leave? If the answer is yes, you need to pay more attention to them.
Increased fights
Fights are the oceans in which a relationship sails, but when a partner who is generally on the calmer and reasoning end of the relationship is always irritated, picks up fights in fits of anger, and immediately apologizes or even cries, which is something so not them, understanding something is off is important.
Brings up sad conversations
How would you feel if your partner spoke to you all about life, death, sadness, loneliness, unhappiness at work, which they never do usually? What if this retrospective mode keeps happening more often and you find them talking to themselves, inducing self-negative talk? What if they feel under-confident and worthless? This is your cue to be there for your loved ones and hug them tight till they feel alright.
Way of going about life
One can quickly make out if there are disruptions in the daily routines of their partner, whether it is the way they eat, sleep, or maintain personal hygiene. Also these days one can understand the same by the amount of time spent together and the amount of Netflix your partner binge watches to escape reality. Newly introduced or increased substance abuse can also help us face the realities of the same.
Though generic, one needs to encourage their partner to meet a therapist and not leave their side through it as it is ‘not just a phase’ or ‘what people will say’ it is about how you fight this together and emerge as a strong couple.