How anxiety changed my relationship
I'm just going to come right out and say it. I have anxiety, my husband does not and it has definitely affected our relationship. For the better!
I have many friends who live with mental illness, ranging from depression to anxiety to eating disorders, and, watching how they navigate the normal relationship waters while dealing with a mental illness is fascinating to me. Mainly because of my journey with anxiety and how long it took for me to open up to my husband about it.
Mental illness has had a massive affect on my relationship, in that we communicate constantly and how we have had to change the way we both act within the borders of a relationship. I've had to learn to stop asking for constant reassurance and in social situations he is constantly keeping an eye on me and will definitely pick up when it's time to find an exit.
We've found our own "normal" - but, I know many people who are still too afraid to say anything to their partners, so they ghost. Which isn't fair to someone who genuinely wants to be there to support you, no matter what.
It's time that we all owned who we are and what makes us these people. I've found in opening up to my husband we've developed so much more trust in each other. It's changed our entire relationship, for the better.
Also read: Would you consider giving your partner a "hall pass"?
The most important thing in any relationship is communication. It's very difficult to communicate the way you feel to someone who doesn't have any anxiety/Bipolar disorder/eating disorder/etc. whatsoever. But, be patient. Talk about everything, deal with these things together. And who knows how this could change your relationship for the better!
Are you on either side of this discussion? Let me know how you deal with mental illness within your relationship.