Dating isn’t an activity that most people consider to be easy. It takes a lot of give-and-take from both parties to build a long-lasting relationship. With that said, dating someone with depression makes it much harder to achieve that goal. It’s important to understand a few facts when it comes to dating and depression.
It’s Not You
The first and most important thing that you need to know is that it’s not you. Don’t mistakenly believe that you trigger the depressive episodes. When your partner feels depressed and becomes upset easily, it’s not your fault.
It might be hard for you to separate these feelings, so you blame yourself for the depression. In the end, though, this way of thinking makes dating harder for both of you.
Dating Someone With Depression Is Possible
Next, you need to understand that it’s possible to date someone who suffers from depression. Such a relationship can be rewarding and be exhausting at the same time. Although it takes more work, sticking with it and working through the depression can lead to a meaningful partnership.
Therapy and professional help can make building the relationship easier. Getting to the root cause of the depression is vital in helping your partner overcome it. It’s also important to get depression under control before it leads to other problems such as addiction.
Depression and Addiction
It’s common for people who struggle with depression to eventually develop an addiction. They often turn to drugs and alcohol to relieve their depressive symptoms. Unfortunately, the drugs only provide temporary relief for the pain. As a result, they have to continue to abuse the drugs to keep getting relief. When dating someone with depression, understanding this risk is vital. Knowing the signs of a drug problem can help you get your partner the help they need quickly.
Therapy can help them deal with the source of their depression. If they already suffer from addiction too, there’s still hope. The best rehab centers offer dual diagnosis treatment. These programs help people overcome co-occurring mental disorders such as addiction and depression.
Not All Depression Looks the Same
To get help for someone with depression, it’s up to you or a family member to recognize the signs. Unfortunately, not all depression looks the same. Everyone deals with the disorder and hides it in different ways. Most of them don’t want their loved ones to know that there’s a problem.
It’s also important to remember that everyone experiences depression from time to time. It’s a natural human feeling. Just because they feel depressed on occasion doesn’t mean that they have a problem. Depression is only a problem when it occurs frequently and disrupts their lives.
Red Oak Recovery® Can Help You Overcome Your Struggles
If you’re dating someone with depression who needs a depression treatment center in NC, you might want to consider Red Oak Recovery®. We provide dual diagnosis treatment to help people who suffer from addiction and co-occurring disorders such as depression. We even offer young adult rehab programs.
At Red Oak Recovery®, we want our clients to find the help that they need to get better. That’s why we offer a wide range of recovery programs. We also have a large staff of friendly and caring workers. Some of the services that we offer include:
- Individual and group therapies
- Acupuncture
- Nutritional therapy
- 12 step addiction recovery
- Expressive arts therapy
- Behavioral therapy
Do you or a loved one suffer from depression? Are you dating someone with depression who needs help? Get the help that you need at Red Oak Recovery®. Find out what we can do for you at 866-457-7590.
