5 Simple Ways to Support Your Partner’s Mental Health
Find 5 ways to support your partner’s mental health, including looking after yourself and finding ways to give them what they need.
Note: I am not a mental health professional. The information presented in this article should not be used for self-diagnosis or to replace a medical diagnosis from a mental health professional or your primary care physician. The following information is for educational purposes only.
If your partner struggles with their mental health, it can be difficult for your relationship. However, everyone experiences mental health issues and needs support when experiencing anxiety, depression, or other problems.
In this blog post, I’ve put together 5 ways to support your partner’s mental health, including ways to keep your relationship going during this challenging time and how to look after yourself so that you can better help your partner.
How To Support Your Partner’s Mental Health
1. Find support online
There are many places to find support, and there are many online mental health support resources for yourself and your partner during this difficult time. Mental Health America offers valuable tips, tools, and resources to help people find support when they need it, and this is an excellent way to support your partner’s mental health (and your own).
2. Explore therapy options
In my experience, therapy was an essential step toward understanding what I was struggling with and how to help my mental health.
If your partner struggles with mental health, you could help them explore therapy options. This might involve looking into therapy options in your local area to help them find a good therapist or pushing them to think about whether therapy is a good idea for them.
3. Look after yourself, first and foremost
Just because your partner struggles with mental health doesn’t mean you should stop thinking about yourself. On the contrary, one of the best ways to help your partner is to continue looking after yourself.
Prioritize self-care, give yourself breaks, and understand what you must do to improve your mental health. This might also mean leaning on other people for support.
There’s nothing wrong with looking after yourself, even while someone else struggles. It’s a meaningful way to continue supporting a partner or loved one.
4. Make it clear that you’re always there
If you’re in a long-term relationship, your partner might worry that they will lose you during this challenging time. So ensure you’re always there for them and around when they need you.
If someone worries about their relationship on top of their mental health, it can cause even more problems- so make it clear that you are a stable and secure constant.
5. Ask your partner what they need
If you’re trying to find ways to support your partner’s mental health, you need to ask what they need. Sometimes, it is easy to assume what your partner needs during tough times, but asking your partner exactly what they want means you’re helping them.
Let your partner come to you if they want to talk, and appreciate that not everyone wants to discuss their mental health.
Find things you can do that get you out of the house or give you a distraction from the everyday. Then, when your partner is ready to talk to you, or when they are prepared to tell you what they need- they will.
Final Thoughts
Finding ways to support your partner’s mental health can sometimes feel challenging. It might be hard to balance your mental health and help someone else.
However, it can help to find small but significant ways to show your partner that you’re there for them. It’s all about making sure you understand what they need from you.
Don’t forget to look out for your mental health while supporting your partner through this difficult time.
This is such a beautiful and important post! I love the reminder to take care of yourself too. We can never pour from an empty cup but too many of us try to! Thank you for sharing ❤️
Yes, You’re absolutely right! You cannot take care of anyone else if you’re not taking care of yourself first!!!!
I love this so much! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for reading!
This is great! We need to make sure that our partners mental health is well so her can be able to support each other.
Agreed!
I know I have mental health issues and am always willing to talk about it and work in myself. My partner of the other hand, won’t accept that they have mental health issues, which makes it a lot harder to deal with
I’m sorry to hear that your partner struggles with talking about their mental health. Sometimes the best thing we can do is just be there for them and let them come to us.
I think the most important thing is to take care of your own mental health first to be able to support the other part. It will be very difficult doing it the other way around. Thanks!
Yes I agree. You cannot take care of someone else unless you take care of yourself.
I think asking what your partner needs is especially important. Thanks for this!
I think so too. Thanks for reading.
great tips to know
Thank you.
These are all such easy, simple ways to support your significant other’s mental health. Thank you so much for sharing them!
You’re welcome Charity. I hope you can use these tips well.
Great insightful article!
Thank you!
Great tips, asking partners what they need is very important. I always do this with my gf. Thank you for sharing!
You’re welcome and I’m glad that you are encouraging with your girlfriend.
This is great advice! It’s very difficult to help someone with emotional issues. It’s hurtful when it feels like it doesn’t help. It’s great to read what could help.
Thank you Nikki
Finding help online is very useful! When I needed help I was endlessly grateful because my partner made a list of specialists for me, cutting my work greatly, I felt a lot more comfortable with only several options.
I also find your advice on keeping an eye on yourself is very valuable and often overlooked. I don’t think any relationship has the luxury to have two damaged people in at once, someone has to be stronger and less problematic at least visibly
I always cannot believe when people think that they don’t need to take care of themselves for the sake of being there for their partner. Not taking care of yourself is equally as damaging as anything else.
All of these tips are fantastic, I especially feel like four and five are important. Just knowing someone is there to help you and comfort you when needed can make a big difference.
It really does make a huge difference.
These are great tips, and I think number 5 is my favorite. Because even though when I’m struggling, there isn’t much anyone can do, simply having someone care enough to ask what my needs are and be there is huge. Too many times it feels like I’m screaming help with my actions and words, yet it looks perfectly normal on the outside.
Thank you for being so honest and raw in this comment Erica, I feel like a lot of us suffer on the inside and are way to good at hiding it from our loved ones.