Make sure you’re a good listener.
Your partner will understand if you can’t find the right words, but you need to ensure them that you love and support them. If they want to talk, you need to be there for them and learn how to be a good listener. If they want to spend some quiet time together, you need to be ok with that, too.
Susan Lehmann suggests doing the same routines that have been part of your life together, like watching a movie on a Friday night, eating popcorn, going for a walk together every weekend, drinking the morning coffee together while reading the daily newspaper, and so on. Usually, after a harsh diagnosis, people tend to appreciate these moments together more.
1. Talk to doctors together.
Your partner needs you at all times, so sitting in the waiting room during their medical appointments is not a good idea. According to Lehmann, “It is always helpful to have another set of ears listening to the clinician explain the treatment plan.”
Also, you can prepare your questions together before the appointment, considering that you only have a limited amount of time with the physician. Also, Lehmann suggests asking the most important questions first, to receive the information you needed just in case you run out of time.
“If you are unable to ask all the questions on your mind during an appointment, ask if you can schedule a follow-up phone time or send your additional questions to the clinician or his/her assistant by email,” Lehmann adds.
Make sure to also read: 10 Tips for Making Dating With Depression Easier.
