EPISODE #33 - How to be Married to Someone with a Mental Health Issue with Dr. Michelle Pearce

EPISODE #33 – How to be Married to Someone with a Mental Health Issue with Dr. Michelle Pearce

On this episode of The Marriage Life Coach Podcast, my friend and psychology professional, Dr. Michelle Pearce, joins me for an important conversation on how to be married to someone with a mental health issue.

Dr. Pearce is a clinical psychologist and professor in the graduate school at the University of Maryland. She’s also an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University Medical Center. She is a board-certified health and wellness coach, an author, a researcher, and a facilitator on writing for wellness. Dr. Pearce got her Ph.D. at Yale and then completed two post-doctoral fellowships at Duke University Medical Center. But above all those things, she is an amazing person.

In the episode, we talk about warning signs that will help you identify if your spouse has a mental health issue, how you can support your spouse through their dark moments, and we share mental health resources you can use for support, too.

Join us as we dive into this tough, but much needed, topic!

PRIVATE COACHING

If you are finding the concepts I teach in this podcast useful, and you want in depth personalized support for your own relationship, I invite you to apply for my personalized coaching program where we take all the things I talk about here and apply them to you and your marriage. CLICK HERE to apply.

HIGHLIGHTS

(0:30) Why I closed my Facebook group
(4:44) Warning signs that will help you identify if your spouse has a mental health issue
(6:18) Why it’s vital to have support from your spouse when you have a mental health issue
(7:03) What to do if your spouse is resistant to get help
(8:59) Why practicing acceptance is so important
(13:07) How to express concern for your spouse when they are struggling
(16:15) Why self-care is important when you have a spouse that has a mental health issue
(19:13) Dr. Pearce explains the concept of “grieving before growing”
(22:00) What to do if you’re afraid the sadness from your spouse will consume you
(24:39) A useful perspective you should have when you’re trying to support a spouse
(29:10) How to choose an identity through this process with your spouse
(31:40) Mental Health resources for support

TRANSCRIPT

Click here to download this episode’s transcript.