Do you want to know 10 ways to support your spouse’s mental health in your relationship?
Three years into our marriage, I discovered that my wife was not emotionally active.
I sat her down to know what the problem was, and she told me that she was not enjoying the marriage.
This was discouraging to me, because I was trying my best to make things easy for both of us but she wasn’t happy.
I met a marriage counsellor, and the counsellor who had been in the profession for over fifteen years told me that my wife is going through mental stress which was the exact reason why she wasn’t happy.
She gave me ten tips that will help me and my wife to support each other’s mental health.
In this article, I am going to share with you those ten tips which are going to help you also to support your spouse’s mental health.
Read also: 10 Best Tips For Maintaining Faithfulness In Your Relationship
Let’s go on now.
10 Ways To Support Your Spouse’s Mental Health In Your Relationship
1. Play with your spouse: The counsellor told me then that playing together with my wife is a great way to relax and enjoy ourselves.
This was the reason why we started playing chess together. This has helped us a lot to be better and happy.
2. Settle misunderstandings quickly: The marriage counsellor advised we should never hold grudges for long.
She told us to settle any quarrel within twenty-four hours. This was difficult for us at the beginning, but we have gotten used to it now.
3. Frequent sex: Sex is one of the best ways to bond well with each other.
Not having sex for a very long time is going to affect your mental health negatively. We only avoid sex when any of us is sick or very tired.
4. Don’t use abusive words: Don’t tell your partner anything that will hurt him or her.
Don’t say these to your partner; I hate you, I dislike you, I regret getting married to you, you are the cause of my problem, you are a bad luck to me. Etc.
These words are very bad and your partner won’t forget them easily.
My wife and I do our best to avoid insulting each other. Using any of these words when talking to your spouse may lead them to depression.
5. Motivate your partner: Encourage your partner to be better in any thing he or she is doing.
Tell them that you are very proud of their efforts in the relationship.
This is going to motivate and give them the inner strength to do more and achieve greater success.
My wife normally appreciates me any time I help her do laundry.
6. Don’t tell your partner that anyone else is better than him or her: This is very discouraging and it is going to make your partner jealous.
I did this once early in our marriage. I was comparing my wife with one of my exes, she started crying and accused me of cheating on her with my ex.
This is the problem with comparing your partner to another person, he or she will think that you are not being faithful in the relationship again.
7. Don’t tell your partner that you will divorce him or her especially when you are angry: Mind what you say when you are angry.
If you tell your partner that you are going to divorce them, they will be heartbroken and never trust you again.
8. Appreciate your partner’s body: Don’t tell your partner that he or she is too fat.
Say this instead; “Darling I love your body, they turn me on. But I would like us to start exercising or hit the gym”.
That is a better way to tell your partner that you want him or her to work on their weight.
Your partner will be happy because you tell him/her two encouraging things; “Your body turns me on, and you are going to the gym together”.
9. Be responsible: Don’t leave all the responsibilities for your partner alone.
It is too stressful for only one person to bear the whole responsibilities in the family.
I experienced this when I was dating.
The girl I was dating then will never call, never appreciate my efforts, never get me any gifts, never want to spend time with me.
And she always gives excuses for not getting things done. I was the one doing everything, I became tired and I left the relationship.
10. Don’t cheat: Be faithful to your partner and always give him or her your attention.
This will help your partner to be strong. There are a lot of negative effects of cheating on your partner which includes;
• Low self esteem, because your partner will think that he or she is not good for you.
• Unproductivity: The partner will be lagging behind and won’t be focused on his or her career/business because of the other person’s cheating lifestyles.
• Depression: Cheating is the major cause of depression in marriages and relationships.
• They will start disrespecting you: Your partner stops respecting you when he or she finds out that you’re cheating.
Why You Should Support Your Spouse’s Mental Health
1. It is your responsibility: Many people don’t know that it is their responsibility to help their partner maintain a good mental health.
And this is one of the reasons why you married him or her, to help them become better each day.
2. If your partner is not mentally healthy, your marriage or relationship will never work.
3. To get whatever you want from them: It is difficult to get anything from your partner if he/she is not mentally healthy.
4. To reduce stress: Supporting your partner’s mental health is going to help them reduce stress in their life generally.
5. To prevent depression and reduce anxiety: Your partner will be depressed and anxious when he or she is mentally stressed.
6. To prevent divorce: This can also lead to divorce when your spouse can no longer deal with what they are passing through.
Conclusion
Your partner’s mental health is very important for the success of your relationship or marriage.
So you should try as much as possible to make sure that you help your partner to overcome mental stress.
Don’t forget to see a marriage counsellor or therapist when things are not getting better in your marriage or relationship.