
13. Mental health is as important as our physical health.
A deleted user says, “Not a doctor but a long-term caregiver who’s worked in Hospice/Mental Illness/and Developmental Disabilities. I married a man with PTSD induced by severe childhood trauma. He suffers from severe depression and anxiety. About two years ago, he had a mental breakdown after a large change in our lives—actually, several large changes. We got married. Both changed our jobs. I had major surgery, we moved and adopted a dog all in the span of six months. The day his breakdown took hold, life had completely changed for him, and I had been hounding him to help me pack up our lives every day for weeks and just didn’t understand why he wasn’t excited to be moving to a great new place that allowed dogs! He loves dogs!”
“And as blatantly obvious as it seems now, I didn’t see it then. I deep down feel incredible guilt for being someone who has had so much training in healthcare, and caring for others, watching for signs of mental health struggles, the fact that I not only didn’t see him struggling but also contributed to it, had made me question whether or not I am a good person. I have felt so guilty for so long. Through therapy, I have learned to understand that when it’s your loved one, you are blinded by that. Your love for them hinders your ability to think straight. To see the signs effectively. And that’s okay. Luckily I was able to get him to help through therapy and some PRN medication. I feel so incredibly lucky to still have him today. And so incredibly guilty that I didn’t help him sooner.”