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Today, I will discuss dating with depression.
If you are one of the people who is suffering from depression, openly or in silence, I just want to tell you that you are not alone.
In fact, 300 million people worldwide are suffering from clinical depression.
I’ve got this number from the World Health Organization’s website, which is a part of the United Nations.
Please help me to spread this article to as many people as possible.
All you need to do is to click on one of the social buttons above or at the end to share this entire article with your followers on the social media platform of your choice.
Let’s discuss depression openly to raise awareness of this illness.
Now, I have something important to tell you.
Every human being will feel depressed every now and then but what I am referring to in this article is the clinical depression.
This definition of clinical depression from Wikipedia will be my definition throughout this article and this is really something I am passionate about fighting.
If you don’t have time reading it, I will summarize it below.
People who suffers from depression occasionally or a permanent clinical depression may experience one or all of the following:
- Experience hallucinations
- False beliefs
- Low self-esteem
- Low mood
- Loss of interest in normally enjoyable activities
- Low energy
- Pain without a clear cause
- Self-doubt
The definition of clinical depression is that you must experience a few or all things that I listed above for at least two weeks uninterrupted.
Here is another chilling fact about depression:
Depression and other mood disorders are believed to cause about 50% of all suicides worldwide.
How Dating with Depression Changes Your Behavior
If you are dating with depression it will change your behavior.
Before I list them, I just need to put a little disclaimer here:
You cannot use this article to diagnose anyone, including yourself and the person you are dating with clinical depression.
This article is descriptive by nature and does not take into consideration each and every circumstance that is needed such as your genetics, your environment, or other psychological factors.
To get a proper diagnose, it is advised that you seek professional advice from a psychiatrist or other medical trained professionists.
A person who suffers from clinical depression may see a decrease of his or her:
- Eating habits
- Education
- Health
- Personal life
- Sleep
- Work life
Be on the lookout for things like a strong self-hatred, the inability to enjoy things that he or she normally likes, emotions of helplessness, hopelessness and worthlessness as well.
If you suspect this, please call or advise the person who you are dating to seek professional help.
It is always better to seek advise sooner than later.
If you are dating with depression you may avoid to express your feelings out loudly, but especially if you feel helplessness, hopelessness, or worthlessness, I would
Is Dating Someone With Depression Worth It?
The question is asked the wrong way right from the beginning because it all comes down to ONE particular thing.
It depends on who you are and whether you love this person or not.
Let’s face the facts: You need to be strong and supportive when the person you are dating is suffering from this illness even if the condition is temporary or present for a lion part of
If you truly love this person, you would never ask this question.
But if you just start dating and aren’t sure, then you need to make up your mind and acknowledge that there are a few facts you must consider as well.
If you dump him or her during a period when he or she is suffering from depression, this will undoubtedly increase the risk that this person may commit suicide or feel self-hatred, worthlessness, and hopelessness.
What Dating Someone with Depression Is Like
Although, I have no experience myself on how dating someone with depression is like, I still wanted to take a moment and share a story of a couple of friends of mine.
To protect their real identities, I will use Gabriel and Dawn as pen names here. For this reason, some of the circumstances have also been altered.
Gabriel and Dawn met through a popular dating app.
Dawn had gone through some rough times and had been diagnosed with clinical depression.
She didn’t feel on top of her game, to say the least, when she went out on a date with Gabriel at a local bar on a Friday evening after her work as a civil servant.
She didn’t feel pretty or special and came straight from work.
The minute Gabriel saw her, he thought that she was the prettiest woman in the room which he told her.
During the time of their first date, she didn’t suffer from depression.
She really loved all the attention and compliments that Gabriel gave her both on the date as well as when he called or texted her.
It made her feel special and pretty until the day when her illness struck.
This couldn’t come any more inconvenient than it did since that day was the night she and Gabriel would go out on a third date.
She texted him: I can’t make it tonight. I’m sorry. Have a great life.
Gabriel was flabbergasted to say the least, since he hadn’t seen that coming and he didn’t know about Dawn’s depression either.
He responded: What is wrong, dear Dawn? Was it something I did?
When he didn’t
Gabriel knew Ellen since she was his best friends ex-girlfriend.
When Ellen called Dawn, she didn’t pick up her phone either. So Ellen went to Dawn’s apartment and pressed her thumb on the intercom to be let into the building.
Dawn didn’t respond to that either but luckily for Ellen, one of Dawn’s neighbours who had seen Ellen in the past, came and let her in.
Before she was let in through the front door, Ellen explained to the neighbour that she was worried about Dawn’s well-being since she hadn’t picked up the phone and haven’t answered any texts or anything.
Ellen’s heart raced as she ran up to the fifth floor and pressed her thumb against the doorbell.
She started to knock on the door when Dawn didn’t opened it right away.
After about 30 seconds, Dawn opened the door with tears in her eyes and her makeup smeared all over her face.
Ellen shouted at her: Why haven’t you picked up the phone? Why didn’t you answer Gabriel’s message? Both him and I are worried sick about you.
Dawn looked at her and said: I don’t deserve such a sweet and wonderful guy. I don’t deserve to live, I’m useless and don’t deserve happiness.
Please leave, so I can kill myself. Everyone is better off without me.
Ellen immediately asked if Dawn had taken some pills or done any other preparations to take her own life that very night and when Dawn denied, Ellen rushed into the living room and there she found it.
Dawn had some prescription painkillers on the table in the living room and she also had opened a bottle of red wine.
She had also tapped up a warm bath for herself.
Ellen immediately called for an ambulance who rushed Dawn to the hospital.
Although Dawn denied taking any pills, the hospital tested her blood for poisoning but it was quickly revealed that she hadn’t taken any of the pills, just drinking about one glass of wine.
Ellen literally saved Dawn’s life that fateful night.
Very soon, Gabriel came to the hospital where Ellen met up with him and told him that Dawn had tried to commit suicide with painkillers and wine but that she had stopped Dawn in the nick of time.
Dawn didn’t want to see Gabriel so he respected her wishes and went home while Ellen stayed behind in the hospital.
Although Dawn wasn’t drunk, she had to remain in the hospital involuntarily for a couple of weeks.
After the treatment, Dawn was allowed to return home.
Gabriel met up with her and had prepared dinner from her favourite restaurant and also invited Ellen to dine with them, so he would fully comprehend what Dawn went through.
She didn’t want to explain it first but Ellen convinced her to tell Gabriel that she had been suffering from depression.
Later that night, both Ellen and Gabriel joined a group meeting with Dawn.
She explained to the group what happened and break into tears from time to time and Gabriel and Ellen who had been allowed to attend this meeting as well, comforted her.
I can reveal that the two now are happily married and that it has been almost five years since Dawn was involuntary hospitalized.
They are hoping to be parents soon as well.
I hope that you now understand how it is to be dating someone with depression and that there is no shame in mental illnesses.
Everybody’s love story is different but I do hope you how love prevailed.
I would ask you to spread this article to as many people as possible on social media, using one of the buttons at the top or bottom of this article.
Remember that depression and other mental illnesses are no one’s fault.
It should not be hidden or hushed away but discussed openly so we can spread knowledge and awareness of these silent killers.
Next Article
My next article will be published on the 25th of March 2019.
It will discuss dating with anxiety.
Have a great day,
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