To set the scene me and my DP have one 1yr old child. Life has been pretty tough for us ever since she was born. I have PND and anxiety. I'm the first to admit it has 'changed' me. His job changed working a permanent night shift. We moved house in the summer and spent a lot of time and money doing it up, only for it to get flooded and all of our ceilings, flooring and possessions (upstairs and down) have been destroyed. We're still living in temporary accommodation and will be for another few months. DP is also a student and studying hard for exams which he's finding stressful.
We don't get to spend a lot of time together because he works nights. When he's awake he's studying and I have to keep our noisy toddler out of the way.
Things came to a head on Mother's Day and we ended up arguing. He has since revealed he is unhappy and has been thinking about us separating. This has devasted me. He said he really doesn't want us to separate but we can't continue to be unhappy for the rest of our lives and that we need to work on it.
My feeling is that it's our circumstances that have made things hard.
I love him dearly and can't imagine a future without him. But I realise my PND has put a big strain on our relationship.
My question is, once a person mentions 'seperation' is there any going back? Do couples ever think about it, then change their minds and stay together forever?
My parents have been married for nearly 50 years. It's never occurred to me that I might break up with the father of my child.
My anxiety skews my thinking and at the moment I'm feeling a bit hopeless.
Any words of encouragement?