Home Sex & Relationships
If you need urgent support, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. To contact our Crisis Messenger (open 24/7) text THEMIX to 85258.
Options

dating someone with mental ill health

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
this is a weird one...

but if someone had a mental illness... i.e. they aren't psychotic or have multiple personalities or anything like that, but mild halucinations/flashbacks, and they have panic attacks and such and can get quite depressed sometimes but not suicidal, plus they have one physical thing which is caused by a mental issue (like tics with tourettes)

would you have an issue going out with them? I.e. would all of that (plus a couple of other things which are related to a health issue), set you running?

i know there has been talk of people that have had physical things that they thought might have put off potencial dates etc, but i think this is kind of different...

any opinons would be good...

Comments

  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i wouldnt have an issue going out with someone with any mental health issue as long as it was able to be controlled. My boyfriend has had multiplepersonality disorder although it hasnt manifested itself for several years and i must admit it worried me a bit, but has never been any trouble.

    It would depend how apparent itwas in every day life.
    I wouldnt fancy being my partners nursemaid for too long
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i wouldnt have an issue going out with someone with any mental health issue as long as it was able to be controlled.

    :yes: I have a friend with mental health who is funny, creative and very intelligent. And sexy. In most cases, I think the mental health issue only makes up a smaller proportion of their whole.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    To be honest it would depend on what the problem was and how severe. I'll be honest and say this as maybe if it was too bad it would put me off. My reason being i've had various issues with family mental health problems (parents not mine) and in a way i have a feeling when i do finally end up with someone it will be someone who is more stable and level than they were. I can cope with mental health issues and it doesn't bother me but usually it does mean i'm the one in charge (rather like a nurse/patient relationship) so in my relationships i do tend to pick older, maturer together people who nothing seems to get to. I have a friend with tourettes and he is lovely and it doesn't affect how anyone sees him. Shame he's not older :flirt:
    Hope that doesn't sound too bad, i'm trying to be honest but can't think of the right way to phrase it. :blush:
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    if its managed (which currently it isn't being cos the NHS have fucked me over once again) its really not an issue. but when its not, or i'm having a rough spell, it can be difficult...but this is the first time in over 2 years i've felt this bad...

    i just feel its often another of the litany of things that get in my way of having a healthy relationship with someone.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    depends if someone says, hey Strubbs, this is Claire, she is has mental issues and this is her twin sister Gertrude and she is perfectly normal, well, dumb question...

    Depends if I like the person beforehand.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Personally, I wouldn't, but that's purely on the basis that I'm still trying to overcome my own and so it wouldn't be fair on them.

    Although otherwise I agree with everyone else, as long as it doesn't completely take over and it's not constantly apparent then I wouldn't see a problem.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I'm with Franki on this.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I know i personally wouldn't mind/or have an issue with going out with someone with mental health issues, but then again i'm pretty messed up myself so I'd be more worried about the effect i'd have on them and also, who am I to judge?
    I personally find people with mental health issues to be more appealing to me... I guess it's because then i'd feel like I wouldn't be judged and there'd be that added sense of empathy which i'd feel (possibly due to paranoia) wasn't all that sincere with "Normal" people.

    No doubt it'd be hard going out with someone just as messed up as me, maybe worse or maybe not as bad as me, but there'd be that mutual understanding. My only fear would be that being with someone just as suicidal and depressed as myself might result in something very, very bad happening. And then I wake up, realise i'm me and that i'm single and have been all of my life and suddenly I realise it'd never happen...
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I am friends with someone with Borderline personality disorder and its hard enough being her friend, i would not even think of going there relationship wise its simply too complicated.

    If im nice to her she hates it, if im not she hates it and more than once ive had to physicly stop her hurting herself - with full on mental health disorders like that its almost like there is no 'room' for intimacy.

    I have empathy with the problem but i simply would not want to be the one 'responsible' for her because she scares the shit out of me as it is - that said i do everything i can for her to make her life easier, GroupTherapy is working fine though! :yippe:
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i wouldn't want or expect a partner to have to be responsible for me or look after me. I am my own person and perfectly capable of looking after myself, but at the same time there might be times of when they have to give me some allowance for being a bit shitty if my fits get bad (which is related to my PTSD)...

    I've been out with people with far worse mental health than myself, and although it ended up becoming an abusive relationship on his part, it wasn't essentialy that which caused the break up.

    its hard to describe it really, because i maybe somewhat biased and want people to see me as someone "normal" and dependable (tbh, even when i'm having a crappy awful days, if someone else is worse off then i'll always do my best to help), and everything else you would want in a partner. I know that the fact i have these fits has put people off in the past, and maybe by that fact alone, they aren't really the people i want to be with...

    i don't know...

    any advice if there is any to be given?
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I know that the fact i have these fits has put people off in the past, and maybe by that fact alone, they aren't really the people i want to be with...

    i don't know...

    nail, head.
  • Options
    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Pretty much everyone I've been out with has been messed up, or depressed or both and its worked reasonably well. Having just put that down it sounds really bad, perhaps I just attract people who are a little unstable.
Sign In or Register to comment.