Her Husband Is Severely Depressed, And Their Marriage Has Been Strained For Years, So She Wants To Leave Him But Feels Extremely Guilty About It
This 35-year-old woman and her husband, who is 36, have been married for 10 years. But her husband has been battling both depression and anxiety for the past five years, and supporting him throughout his struggles has become extremely overwhelming.
Right now, she claims that their marriage is solely sustained by her. Her husband just sleeps 10 hours every single day, goes to work, and watches TV as soon as he gets home at night.
Now, he has seen multiple therapists about his mental health, but he has “given up,” according to her. He also hasn’t seen much success with medication.
“He refuses to even increase his dosage as recommended,” she said.
So, their relationship has become more and more strained. Her husband “rarely” ever leaves their bed until she gets him up. Then, on weekends, he sleeps even more – not waking up until the afternoon.
They haven’t exactly been romantic together, either. In fact, she said their love life is “virtually non-existent,” and her husband just keeps missing his psychologist appointments.
“I barely recognize myself anymore due to his constant drain,” she admitted.
That’s why she recently decided to spend two weeks away from her husband. During that time, she visited her family and had a wonderful break.
But, while she was incredibly happy at the time, as soon as she returned home, the “dread” just returned again.
aspenphoto – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
Apparently, the only area of her husband’s life that hasn’t been affected by his mental health is actually his professional success – which she thinks is “quite remarkable.”
“Although even that is starting to show signs of strain,” she vented.
All of this has pushed her to consider leaving her husband to focus on herself. Still, even just the thought of abandoning him while he’s struggling makes her feel extremely guilty.
So now, she’s been left wondering whether divorcing her severely depressed husband would really be the wrong thing to do.
Does it sound like she has tried her best to support her husband over the past five years? Is it okay to recognize when you need to prioritize your own mental health? How should she handle this tough situation?
You can read the original post on Reddit here.
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