Advice From A Spouse Of Someone Struggling Mentally, Pt. 1

Excuse me while I wipe myself up from a puddle and dry my tears.

Last week I not only asked for help from you, but also from Luke. I asked him to give me 3-5 pieces of advice as a spouse of someone with mental illness.

1. Never Quit

On the night Alecia and I got married, at the end of our reception, I crossed paths with my dad in a hallway. I stopped him and told him thank you, not just for all his help with the wedding but for a lifetime to that point. As a young man I realized how much he’d given to me, experiences, knowledge, and most importantly he was there. I asked him how I could ever show him how thankful I was? He simply said “stay married.”

Our conversation ended there but those words never stopped. Every time I was done, sick of dealing with, or even just overwhelmed by a beautiful woman dealing with anxiety and depression. Those words and that moment in a hallway always come rushing back.

It wasn’t until recently that I realized that advice wasn’t to make him proud; it was to make me proud. I’m proud of my wife and our journey, I’m glad I never quit, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.