Mental Illness and Relationships: Can You Make It Work?

Content:

1. Dating with Mental Illness: What’s It Like?
2. Mental Illness and Relationships: How to Make It Work
3. Dating Sites for People with Mental Illness

Mental illness is a disease that strikes millions of people every year. A significant part of patients doesn’t even know about their diagnosis, trying to lead a normal life. Those, who know about it, are often in isolation from society, and they are unable to cope with the manifestations of their illness. Nonetheless, this illness is not a reason to refuse personal life and new acquaintances. If you learn to control your illness, you can lead a full life without depriving yourself of its joys. So, are mental illness and family relationships compatible?

Dating with Mental Illness: What’s It Like?

It is sometimes very difficult for a person, suffering from mental illness to arrange a personal life. It happens not just because frightening visions start overwhelming people from time to time. One of the main problems, which often accompanies such personality disorders is a hostile attitude that healthy people show towards such patients. So, how mental illness affects relationships and how to behave.

1. It is necessary to take medicine, prescribed by a doctor. Statistics say that if patients don’t follow the recommendations of a doctor, then symptoms of the disease may reappear in 7 out of 10 cases, or they may need hospitalization. As you understand, it all affects a relationship.

2. Patients should watch for signs of an upcoming exacerbation. If a person has disturbed sleep, they become more irritable and feel anxiety, or they can suffer from other signs of an aggravation, which are typical for the illness. If people don’t pay attention to it in time, a relationship can be destroyed because not everyone can withstand the mood swings.

3. A sober lifestyle. In this case, there is also a huge impact of mental health on relationships. For example, people with mental illness are aware that alcohol and drugs can often exacerbate the symptoms of the disease, they have a detrimental effect on the brain, and it is more difficult to recover. So, there is a need to give up bad habits when you are in a relationship and want to save it.

4. It is known that stress can cause exacerbation of any disease. Therefore, to maintain emotional balance, it is necessary to avoid such actions or situations that cause tension, irritation or negative emotions.

5. Controlling of behavior. Dating with mental illness, you have to control your behavior. Some patients feel a sense of their own uselessness in a relationship and think that other people treat them badly because they suffer from a mental disorder. At the same time, they can become irritable and take their anger out on other people, including soulmates who try to help them.

6. The constant need for support. When people have a mental illness, there are huge changes in their lives and in the life of the whole family. In any situation, a person needs the support of a loved one.

7. The rehearsal of difficult situations. The fear that something can go “wrong” is inherent in most people, even mentally healthy. But patients with a mental illness are more vulnerable to unexpected turns of fate. However, a person can play out various potential situations with the help of a soulmate as well as rehearse how best to behave in this or that case to protect vulnerable psyche as much as possible. These people need to be able to combine mental health and relationships.

Mental Illness and Relationships: How to Make It Work

Love, no matter how strong it is, can’t cure mental illness. However, there is a scientifically proven fact: a stable and supportive relationship improves mental health. Even patients with severe disorders are less likely to suffer from seizures and spend more time in remission. If you meet a person with a mental illness and think that it is impossible to build a healthy relationship, remember that about one out of every four people is not healthy. And if we take the borderline states (that is, mildly expressed disorders), then almost every second person is abnormal at some period of their lives. Since few people like going to psychiatrists, it may become clear after many years of relationships. So, mental illness is not a big problem. You just need to know the rules of communication with such people to build a good relationship.

1. Don’t criticize and blame. Believe me, your partners cope with this on their own and are doing it from about morning to evening. In some weeks (or even months), a person’s consciousness is distorted. He or she really considers themselves to be losers who are not worthy of your love. So, dating someone with mental illness, your praise will never be superfluous. Do it as often as possible. Also, dissatisfaction with the world around and disillusionment with what used to be so pleasant shouldn’t be taken egocentrically. Most likely, at times like this, a partner thinks not about you but about the fact that his or her life is a failure, and humanity is heading for the apocalypse.

2. Don’t create critical situations. If your partner is prone to depression, it is important to understand that they objectively have less strength and energy, they get tired faster and react more negatively to things. Appeals to get out of the comfort zone and ingenious tips like “be more positive” will not help in any way. This doesn’t mean that you can’t demand anything from your partner. It is possible, but not now. Do it when a person comes back to normal and is able to perceive these requirements adequately.

3. Support a desire to recover. It works for any mental disorders: instead of depreciating comments “everything is fine with you, rest a bit,” support practical steps to recovery. Take a partner to a neurologist and psychotherapist, remind how important it is to get enough sleep and do exercises.

4. Look for the balance. The golden mean probably sounds boring, but you have to stick to it in everything. You have to establish and maintain an adequate mode of living together: eat healthy food, go to bed early, and alternate work and rest. The health of your partner depends on this routine: the more stable daily life is, the fewer seizures a soulmate may have.

5. Direct the energy in the right way. It is useless to forbid inventing adventures, but you can assume the role of an expert who rationally assesses the prospects of new ideas. It can be taken, for example, by drawing up a detailed business plan and collecting information. If a loved one is still inadequate, he or she will spend time on schemes and sketches and calm down a bit. And if a soulmate remains critical, perhaps, they will come up with something truly ingenious.

6. Don’t leave alone with problems. Staying alone with fears is the main nightmare of people with mental illness. Methods like “the best way to stop hysterics is not to react to it in any way” don’t work here. You, of course, save yourself from the unpleasant spectacle, but a relationship is unlikely to live long after that. And if you stay close, embodying all kind of understanding and peace – a partner will definitely appreciate it. Holding the hand of a loved one and leading them away from an unpleasant place can be enough to stop a panic attack. It is important to listen to the entire stream of consciousness and say something calming.

7. Support the fight against fears. Cognitive-behavioral therapy offers to fight fears using the following method: to accustom a partner to frightening situations. However, this should be done gradually and in really safe conditions. Partner support just creates this sense of security, and generally, it’s great to expand the boundaries of an interesting world: for example, climb a beautiful roof with your loved one and overcome the fear of heights.

8. Don’t argue. When a person experience exacerbation, it is useless to argue. At this moment, you are just a person, who is unable to appreciate the genius of his or her ideas. And if there are signs of psychosis, then any talk is meaningless. Only potent drugs will help.

9. Create a safe environment. The sensitive psyche of the anxious doesn’t tolerate overloads. It can “close” even from an excess of positive impressions, for example, on a stormy holiday. That is why it is extremely important to have a quiet and cozy place where you and your partner can relax.

10. Don’t provoke. Dating someone with mental health issues, you have to know that the psyche of a person with mental illness is easily excitable and unstable, and therefore, these people are easily amenable to provocation. If you push your opinion or argue aggressively, then a trivial finding out who goes to the store will turn into an analysis of your relationship from the first day of your acquaintance and will include the flow of swearing and the most sophisticated accusations.

Dating Sites for People with Mental Illness

1. Disability Dating. This is one of the best dating sites for people with mental illness. This site brings together people, who have faced life difficulties and diseases. You can get psychological support that will make it much easier to cope with all the problems. Here you will find many friends. And, as you know, communication gives positive emotions that lead to recovery. Thanks to new acquaintances on the site, you get the opportunity to adapt to society, as well as learn the latest information about your illness.

2. Prescription4Love. This service is also one of the best mental illness dating sites. It is for people who suffer from social anxiety disorder, lonely and shy people, or those, who suffer from different phobias or psychological problems! This site has been created precisely for those who have difficulties in communication. Here, they can meet and get to know each other because it is much easier to do this on the Internet than in reality. This website will help you find friends and avoid loneliness. And the most important thing is that you can find a soulmate for serious relationships and family formation.

3. No Longer Lonely. If you have a mental illness, then your desire to get acquainted with a person with similar problems and solve them together is quite understandable. The dating service is by far the most requested service for such people. In addition to new friends, everyone is guaranteed to receive interesting communication. On this site, you can always find like-minded people and friends in misfortune, and it is always easier to deal with an ailment together.

As you can see, it is possible to cope with mental illness. With the help of loved ones and using your strengths and weaknesses, the disease can be fooled. But most importantly, in the course of dating with other people, you shouldn’t rush to the final goal, you should enjoy the process. Instead of feeling “I want to be the best,” we must learn to feel better and get rid of the fear of doing or saying something wrong.