How do I feel today?
Instead of everyday starting with the usual almost meditative assessment of physical well-being, my husband now begins each day with a short discussion about how depressed he feels. I am given detailed descriptions of how often he woke up at nite, how he couldnt go back to sleep, and how hard it was to wake up.
At first, I listen and sympathize.
He responds by becoming more and more self-absorbed and self-centered. It gets to the point where he no longer even tells us "good-night" but instead just disappears upstairs. He no longer kisses me good-bye when he leaves for work - just goes out the door. Our children do not interact with him because they learn that even if they stand in front of him and talk he doesnt respond. He looks at them but he doesnt ask any questions or input anything. He spends all his time thinking about work with breaks for dealing with his siblings and parents and friends from work.
Listening and sympathizing was a HUGE mistake.
He took the ball and ran with it!
