Partner Suffers from HA/Depression - Help & Advice PLEASE...

[LB]

My boyfriend is 23 and suffers from HA and depression and it is incredibly difficult :weep:

We have been together for 5 years & he was a strong, athletic, confident & self assured young man, but since his first anxiety attack earlier this year he has little enthusiasm for anything, isolated himself and more or less shut down, constantly reminding me of his terrible world...something I can never understand according to him...

Its hard to see how frustrating this is for him & I feel there is nothing I can do - I just wish I could absorb it out of him to me so he can feel better again as this has knocked him for six.

The support he receives on here is great, just sharing thoughts with people on here who can completely understand him 100% assures him & he usually comes away feeling a little more relaxed & like there is light at the end of the tunnel, but the mood soon flips...

I'm worried that the added pressure of house hunting may be affecting him, although he seems to enjoy surfing the net/driving around looking for houses and talking about it, could this be adding unecessary stress subconciously, or could this be helping him focus on something we want to achieve?!

He is a wonderful man but I am struggling... I have so many articles, website etc so that I can offer as much as support as I can and I try so hard to remain positive and am desperate for him to recognize there is good in the world & step by step we can move forward, but I really need to know how I can support him better.

Any help & advice would be hugely appreciated - Thanks

[Geoff2301]

sounds like he's really lucky to have a caring girlfriend like you....... couldn't you get him out doing some sort of sport.... running, cycling, swimming?.... I always find that very helpful and always felt a lot better after a good run.... it also convinces you that there can't be much wrong with you or you'd have dropped down dead!!

Geoff

[LB]

Hi Geoff

Thanks for the advice - he has been put off by any physical exercise & completely stopped playing cricket, but at the begining of the month I managed to persuade hime to start doing a little gentle exercise & we started walking a few miles up to 3 times a week - maybe its time to kick it up a notch & really get the heart going by cycling or swimming & like you said convince him that there can't be much wrong physically - but things are easier said than done at the moment!

Fingers crossed he'll like this idea & hopefully he'll be back at his playing cricket at his competitive level soon - but one step at a time hey!

Thanks again :D

Lisa