Valentine’s Day is a great opportunity for couples to celebrate their love for one another. However, at PANDA we know that perinatal anxiety or depression can cause difficulties between partners and affect relationships.

In fact, over half of callers to PANDA’s National Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Helpline report changes and challenges in their relationship with their partner as a result of this common illness. Being a new parent is hard enough and puts sufficient stress on relationships on its own: struggling with perinatal anxiety and depression can make things even more difficult. However, if your relationship with your partner is under stress due to perinatal anxiety and depression, just remember: going through the ordeal of the illness and then recovering together can make relationships even stronger.

Tips to support a partner experiencing perinatal anxiety and depression:

• Understand the signs and symptoms of perinatal anxiety and depression >
  
  
• Focus on providing practical help and gentle emotional support. Try and listen when your loved one expresses difficult or uncomfortable feelings or thoughts without jumping into ‘fix it’, minimise or ‘make it better.’
  
  
• Encourage your partner to open up to their GP, midwife, obstetrician or child health nurse. You may also like to encourage them to read recovery stories on the PANDA website > so they understand they are not alone and it is a common and treatable illness.
  
  
• Perinatal anxiety and depression affects every area of wellbeing: motivation, decision making and view of self and others. It is probably not the best time to make big life decisions about things like your relationship, career or house.
  
  
• Looking after your own physical, emotional and mental health is crucial if you hope to provide ongoing support to your partner with perinatal depression or anxiety. Exercise, a healthy diet, limiting alcohol consumption and sufficient sleep all make a difference.
  
  
• Seek and accept offers of practical help from family or friends.