There has been a lot of research into how mental health illnesses affect people in relationships. Unfortunately, those who are mentally ill that don’t get treatment, often have a tough time holding their relationships together. There are numerous reasons for this including isolation, deceit, instability and much more. If you are wondering whether you or a loved one are too mentally ill for a relationship, hopefully, this guide can help you figure out more. If you or a loved one is ready to get treatment for a mental health disorder, reach out to our Harmony Recovery Center team today.
Top Red Flags to Look for in Relationships with a Mentally Ill Person
Are you or a loved one mentally ill? If so, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t have relationships. However, there may be some red flags that you want to look for that signify something needs to change. The top red flags to look for in relationships with a mentally ill person are:
- One or both people are constantly feeling suspicious (your mind works overtime on worrying and doubts about your partner’s actions)
- Constantly censoring yourself (not saying what you want to say in fear or worry that you will upset your loved one)
- Feeling misunderstood most of the time (disagreements come up often due to not being heard or understood)
- Feeling like you don’t know who your loved one is (growth and change should happen in a relationship, but you should still be able to communicate and understand one another)
- Stuck in a rut (feeling like you are in a constant circle of negative patterns that never seems to get better)
- List of resentments keeps getting longer and building up (constantly holding things in instead of communicating with one another can cause this issue)
If any of these things are happening, it is likely that you and/or your partner are mentally ill. It could be anything from generalized anxiety disorder to PTSD to depression or a number of other mental health conditions.
The good news is there are ways that mentally ill people can be in relationships. Usually, progress begins when the person with the mental health disorder reaches out for professional mental health treatment.
Is Your Loved One Worsening Your Anxiety
There are many different relationship issues that could cause your anxiety to get worse. However, if you are in a relationship that is directly causing your anxiety to get worse, this may not be the healthiest relationship for you to be in.
Usually, the worsened anxiety is due to a fear that your loved one will get hurt or leave, getting agitated with them due to their behaviors, not trusting your loved one or a number of other things. Whether they are doing something to worsen your anxiety or whether you just haven’t gotten treatment for your anxiety disorder, there are solutions.
Reach out to our Harmony Recovery Center team to get the anxiety treatment that is needed and figure out the next steps in your relationship from there.
Is it Depression or Your Relationship
There are millions of people who feel like they are depressed. However, when they leave a specific relationship, they find they aren’t feeling depression as much or at all. Could it be that the relationship was causing the mental health issues? Yes, that is completely possible.
There are some signs that your relationship is causing or worsening your depression such as:
- Second-guessing the motives of your loved one
- Not feeling secure in your relationship
- Constantly feeling like you are less than or lacking something that your partner has
- Not feeling good in your interactions with this person
- Feeling like you are doing most or all of the work or putting forth the effort while the other person isn’t
- Getting upset about constant conflicts or potential conflicts
- Coming up with excuses for how your loved one behaves or treats you
- Not growing in your personal life due to the relationship holding you back
- Dealing with love-bombing
These are just some things that may be causing you to experience depression in your relationship. You may or may not have depression if you weren’t in this relationship. However, these are not the signs of a healthy relationship. If you want to work on these things or on yourself, get the depression treatment that is needed and then, you can reassess the state of this relationship.
Other Signs the Relationship Isn’t Working Out
You have read about some red flags in a relationship with mentally ill people above. Whether you or the other person in your relationship has a mental health disorder, the number one thing to do is to get treatment. The relationship issues can usually be worked out from there or you can get out of that relationship if needed. If the issues are serious or causing you physical or too much mental or emotional harm, there are resources to help you get out now.
With this being said, there are some other signs that your relationship isn’t working out due to a mental health disorder on your side or with the other person. Some of these signs include:
- Someone is constantly trying to control the other person
- One person is spending less and less time with their friends or loved ones (usually due to comments made by the other person or due to feeling bad about the way your partner acts or treats you)
- Not having an outlet (nobody to talk to, especially when things get tough)
- Being told that you can’t get or don’t need professional treatment (usually because the person doesn’t want you to talk to others about how they act or treat you)
Are you dealing with these other red flags in a relationship? If so, these aren’t going to be good for your mental health whether you are mentally ill or not.
Tips for a Healthier, More Positive Relationship and Better Mental Health State
If you are ready to work on your mental health, don’t hesitate to contact our Harmony Recovery Center team. We have evidence-based treatments that can help you get the support you need.
In the meantime, we do have a few tips that we would like to share. These tips can help you build a healthier, more positive relationship with people in your life. They can also help to improve your mental health, too. The tips we want to share with you today include:
- Relationships are built on balance, trust and fairness (one person shouldn’t be giving their all while the other gives nothing)
- Being empathetic goes a long way in relationships
- There should be at least 5 times as many positive interactions as there are negative ones
- Nobody should be playing games in the relationship (no gaslighting, blaming, etc.)
- Communication lines should be open at all times
- Quality time (to both people’s love languages) is essential to a healthy relationship and great for both people’s mental health
- Not regularly maintaining the relationship can cause it to worsen or even fall apart (relationships do take work on both sides)
If you feel that your relationship could get better, that is great. However, one thing to remember is that you can only control your actions. If you are mentally ill and need treatment, focus on that first. Then, you can learn healthier tips and techniques to implement into your relationships.
Contact us today, here at Harmony Recovery Center, if you are mentally ill and need treatment right away.