Almost 50% of all adults will experience at least one instance of a mental health issue once in their lifetime. According to Research, mental illness can make a person experience impaired physical health, lower productivity, and a decreased quality of life.
Most health conditions like depression, anxiety, alcoholism, and post-traumatic stress can significantly affect a person’s relationships. Ultimately, intimate relationships between partners tend to be most affected by mental health conditions.
However, it’s possible to enjoy a loving, healthy, long-term relationship from dating sites even when you have a mental health condition. But it is essential to understand the challenges that are likely to arise and learn some coping strategies that will help nurture the relationship.
5 Tips To Manage Your Mental Health When In A Relationship
1.   Embrace Openness about Your Mental Health
Naturally, it can feel scary to open up to someone about your mental health disorders. But embracing openness from the start can eliminate the stress associated with keeping mental health conditions a secret, especially when trying to establish a new relationship.
Although there is no obligation to reveal your entire medical history during the first days of a relationship, make sure to talk to your partner as soon as possible. Most importantly, openness helps when your mental health condition has a significant effect on your daily life. Besides offering your better half the chance to talk about the issue and find out the best way to help you, honesty sets a solid foundation of trust in the relationship.
And since the stigmatization around mental health conditions is still widespread in our society, sharing your health status can be challenging. Therefore, make sure to understand whether your partner has any reservations about being in a relationship with a partner dealing with mental illness.
If they are not ready, no need to worry. There are many people out there who are more understanding and are ready to accommodate the baggage that comes with these health conditions.
2.  Communicate and Encourage Questions
Communication is critical in a relationship but specifically vital when one partner has a mental health condition. Communication is vital in any relationship, but it is imperative when mental health is involved.
Typically, partners of persons dealing with mental health conditions may see certain reactions and actions as confusing and illogical. Whenever this happens, try to resist the urge to push a partner away and instead try to communicate about potential mental health first aid and help. Timely communication helps the other person figure out what mental health is and what they can do to support and make things better.
While mental health issues may be a predominant aspect of our daily lives, most people are oblivious of the effects, possible manifestations, and treatments. When in a relationship, encouraging questions and discussions can be a great way to address the issue. Instead of pushing your partner away, encourage their curiosity so you can get the chance to explain everything that you go through and dispel any mental health awareness misconceptions.
3.  Set Boundaries When Necessary
One of the best mental health tips is to set strict boundaries regarding your physical space and emotional needs. As far as mental health is concerned, boundaries are essential for self-care, and it’s important to inform your partner to avoid misinterpretations. If you get anxious in group settings, let them know why it’s hard for you to attend family gatherings.
Explaining all the boundaries to a partner is vital for ensuring that your relationship remains healthy and meets the needs of both parties. Doing this will also give the other person an opportunity to set boundaries while working on a healthy relationship without compromising your needs.
4.  Understand the Difference Between Your Mental Health and Your Relationship Problems
Regardless of mental health conditions, relationships can be complicated.
Occasionally, one partner will often offend the other party and vice versa. And that is normal in any relationship. But trying to blame mental health for all the problems in a relationship can be detrimental, and you may feel like you’re carrying all the burdens alone.
In the long run, it can damage your self-esteem and hinder both partners from looking into the real problems in the relationship.
Instead of blaming a mental health crisis as the cause of a conflict, both partners should scrutinize their negative perceptions. In most cases, they are dealing with a problem that any mentally fit couple experience and has nothing to do with your mental health condition.
5.  Maintain a Healthy Diet, Exercise, and Enough Sleep
Having an active exercise routine can have positive effects on mental health. Similarly, a healthy diet improves your overall outlook on life. Specifically, drinking plenty of water and eating protein-rich foods increase the body’s dopamine levels, enhancing brain health and making us feel happier.
Getting enough sleep enhances your emotional resilience as well as improving your serenity mental health. While it is important to ensure you’re sleeping for at least eight hours, always make sure you have a clear head by the time you go to bed. Notably, retiring to bed angry alters how your brain hold and processes negative emotions or memories.
Negative emotional memories like negative experiences and hurt feelings tend to be resistant to change if not resolved before bedtime.
Failing to suppress unpleasant memories can lead to several psychiatric disorders, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Therefore, it’s important to communicate about problems in your relationship and endeavor to resolve them quickly and respectfully.
Conclusion
Although relationships affected by mental health issues can be quite complicated, it doesn’t mean it’s impossible to have a rewarding and fulfilling relationship. Mental health issues like anxiety and depression are common in our society, so don’t feel isolated if you’re trying to figure things out.
Undeniably, a mental health condition may be frustrating at times and throw you out of balance every now and then. But it doesn’t mean people with mental issues can’t learn how to have a thriving relationship.
However, if you still feel that your mental health is standing in the way of a healthy and fulfilling relationship, then it’s best to speak with a mental health specialist. How did you manage mental health in your relationship? Let us know in the comments.
