If one spouse is mentally ill may it be depression, bipolar disorder, phobias, schizophrenia, dementia, social anxiety disorder etc it negatively affects the other’s mental health and the relationship between them. The caregiver partner may initially spend a lot of time taking care of the other spouse and work hard to maintain the relationship. But over the period gets tired of this role as the partner’s own needs are ignored. The result may be the partner may end up retreating from the caregiver role or react in angry outburst. This can go on for years. According to World Health Organization 2017 report, 450 million people are affected worldwide.
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A relationship suffers when one of the spouses is going through a hard time. It also depends on how the sufferer is dealing with his or her problem. If the partner is always upset, talking about the same health issue all the time, is not positive when help is provided then it becomes challenging for the other partner to maintain a happy relationship. Their social and personal life is affected to a great extent. Linda’s husband was diagnosed HIV positive which happened due to infected needle sharing. Hell broke on her happy life. Fearing social stigma they kept it a secret but Linda was always worried about contracting the infection. Though she took ample precaution but over the period got divorced.
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