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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To give up trying to help depressed DH?

91 replies

helloworld2012 · 08/11/2017 07:47

This is maybe more of a WWYD.

My DH is depressed. He has been for about 2 years at least, although neither of us spotted the warning signs and he has never been to the GP about it so it's not officially diagnosed. He is really, really, really low, finds zero enjoyment in anything, has isolated himself almost completely (cut contact with his parents, lost contact with friends) and he wants a divorce and to leave me and the kids. He's lost so much weight, he looks awful, his cheekbones are jutting out and he has a kind of grey colour to his skin.

However he refuses to see the GP, doesn't want to take medication, believes he can't afford to take time off work (we would find a solution for money if we had to) and has a refusal for every single suggestion that I give him. He's seen a therapist but it hasn't helped so far and he says he's not going to go back after this evening's session.

Despite us divorcing I still love him and care about him. We're still in the same house as neither of us has anywhere else to stay so I see everyday how down he is and it is breaking my heart into tiny pieces. I am so helpless. I want to help him, I want to get him to see how ill he is but even when I'm sobbing and begging him to go see the dr, he still won't go. He does seem to take in everything I say though, but doesn't agree to doing anything about it. He honestly thinks this is just his lot and there's no way out.

My question is not really AIBU, it's more what can or should you do when you see your husband go from a lovely, happy go lucky man, to a deeply depressed shell of a man who wants a divorce and to leave his family? When I married, I married for life, through the good times and the bad, through sickness and health, so in that respect I shouldn't give up. But on the other hand, this divorce is happening now, and he is doing literally nothing to get help despite my pleading. I have tried everything. Is it ever ok to just stand back and allow this to continue? I'm scared he does something stupid...

OP posts:
whingeyarse · 18/08/2018 09:52

I'm so pleased to read this update.

Wishing you and your children a happy new life Thanks

sandgrown · 18/08/2018 09:57

Best wishes for your future Flowers

RockinHippy · 18/08/2018 13:13

Well done you. So good to read such a positive update. Wishing you & your DCs the very best for the future 💐💐

helloworld2012 · 20/08/2018 11:44

Thanks everyone. I am so happy to be able to give a good update! xxx

OP posts:
Stuckinthis · 20/08/2018 12:13

Well done on getting out of an awful situation! You’ve done fantastically Flowers

namechangedbcos · 20/08/2018 14:21

NRTFT but just wanted to say that this sounds a lot like my relative who ultimately got his blood tests done and was found to have an autoimmune disorder which affected his thyroid and gave him incredible depression. He removed gluten and dairy from his diet, took up yoga, went on thyroid meds and is now like a changed man.

I don't mean this as a medical diagnosis, by all means pls get your husband to the GP and get him help, but just keep in mind that the right diet, along with the right medical treatment, can be powerful. Good luck.

namechangedbcos · 20/08/2018 14:23

Right, just erase my comment please! I just read the recent updates. What an asshole! You are truly well rid of, OP.

Oldraver · 20/08/2018 14:30

NFTFT...do please and try

HollowTalk · 20/08/2018 14:31

I am so happy to hear this update! I was so worried about you, that you were running around doing everything you could while he was doing absolutely nothing to help himself, and as it turned out he was cheating on you as well. What a bastard.

hellsbellsmelons · 20/08/2018 15:39

Well done OP.
I hadn't seen this before today and was reading it just wanting to shake you.
But you did it.
You got away and you are happier.
Here's to many happy years without assholes bringing you down Wine

ChinUpShouldersBack · 20/08/2018 15:52

Glad to hear things are much better for you OP. So pleased for you.
Selfisy, as I'm at the beginning of the process, all positive stories are music to my ears.Smile

helloworld2012 · 27/08/2018 21:56

Oh everybody, life is so good without walking on eggshells every day and crying over someone who you love because they don't love you or the children they had with you! He still occasionally gets in touch to try to get a dig in (always about how it's not fair that he should have to pay for his own children...) and I just laugh because it's obvious he's miserable, despite still being with his 18 year old girlfriend and I'm just so glad that I don't have to take on his problems anymore or be controlled by him any longer.

I am finally free!

Bless you HollowTalk, you're lovely. Good luck Chinupshouldersback! You've got this, we're better off alone than in an unhappy relationship. Great name by the way!

OP posts:
Goth237 · 28/08/2018 13:46

He has to want to get better, and want to do the work/to get help. But it doesn't sound as though he's in that place at the moment. As hard as it is for you, and I don't doubt that it's very difficult, there is nothing you can do. I would stop trying to help him- it sounds harsh, but it won't work if he's not willing to do anything to help himself. The only thing you're achieving is making yourself ill. And you need to be strong for you. As much as you can, just let him get on with what he's doing and try to stay away from it. X

M3lon · 28/08/2018 14:23

So glad you were able to turn things around. Enjoy your life!

serbska · 28/08/2018 14:30

However he refuses to see the GP

I don't tolerate people who won't help themselves.

On the minot scale.. complaining of a headache but wont take paracetamol Fuck. Off.

Has depression but won't see is GP? Your place in this family depends on you taking an active role in helping yourself. With seeing the GP a first step in that.

seventhgonickname · 28/08/2018 14:52

Good luck with your new life

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