Depression and Marital Problems

Depression and marital problems tend to occur together. Which one is the chicken and which one the egg?

The answer depends on your situation. Sometimes individuals become depressed because of the marital problems they face. High levels of conflict and feeling disconnected can lead to feelings of loneliness and failure, both of which are part of depression. Women are particularly at risk for depression when they are unhappily married. When depressed women are treated but the marital problems that contributed to their depression are not, women are at high risk of becoming depressed again.

In other cases, one person’s depression has a significant negative impact on the marriage. Depressed people can be difficult to get along with. They can be sensitive to perceived criticism or rejection and easily irritated. When depression goes untreated for a long time, the non-depressed partner may become unhappy with the marriage.

When a couple is struggling with both depression and marital problems, we carefully assess both partners to determine how best to help you. Your therapist may recommend that you alternate couple therapy with individual therapy sessions for the depressed partner. The couple therapy sessions are done with one psychologist in our practice, while the individual sessions are done with another partner. The partners communicate regularly about progress. We find this combination treatment to be highly effective for treating the co-occurrence of depression and marital problems.

For more information about the link between depression and marital problems see "A Secret Sadness."