Kitt O’Malley

Love, Marriage & Mental Illness

Love, Marriage & Mental Illness

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Happy Anniversary to My Beloved! Love, Marriage & Mental Illness. KittOMalley.com
There’s hope. You can find and nurture love when living with mental illness.

Been married 22 years today. Started dating 25 years ago. Some of us living with mental illness can and do have stable relationships. Some of us need someone else in our lives. My husband and I support each other, help each other, complement each other. Plus, we made a kid, now a young adult.

Not easy. Not by any means. Stressful to love someone with mental illness or another chronic illness. Caretaking is not easy. But, it’s worth it. At least for us it has been.

Important that you express gratitude. I’m thankful for all my husband does for me and our son. Thank you, sweetheart.

Comments

25 responses to “Love, Marriage & Mental Illness”

  1. chrisbremicker1 Avatar
    chrisbremicker1

    Marriage might he harder than the single life. Being single, I know how to plan my day. I am responsible only to myself. Yet I have no one to talk to, sleep with, or share my life with. I am a writer, which is a solitary occupation. I am an outdoorsman too. And I go to church. On that subject, I came out of the closet today at church. I told my assistant minister I was mentally ill and another man, who has his own radio show, the same thing. As is often the case, they thought nothing of it. They treated me the same after the revelation as before it. Felt good to sing like a canary.

  2. Kitt O'Malley Avatar
    Kitt O’Malley

    Having a partner helps. I’m blessed to have my husband. That said, marriage is not easy.

  3. chrisbremicker1 Avatar
    chrisbremicker1

    Kitt, you are doing well. I survived schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and alcoholism. I did it with close friends, family, minimum wage jobs, and a maniacal pursuit of hobbies. I write, downhill ski, hunt ducks, and fish on the Mississippi River. I play handball and review theater. Check out my blog. I envy your marriage. I have women I love but they are too young of me. It must be nice to have someone to come home to, someone to snuggle up with. I hate sleeping alone but have done it all my life. I hate doing all the thinking. I talk to myself a lot.

  4. Kitt O'Malley Avatar
    Kitt O’Malley

    Thank you for sharing stories!

  5. crazybeautifulvibes Avatar
    crazybeautifulvibes

    Best of luck to you…
    Come check out my new post and
    Support a shared story from a woman that lives with MS & shared a brief story of her life…
    https://crazybeautifulvibes.blog/2019/07/31/rocky-path-survived-with-faith/

  6. Kitt O'Malley Avatar
    Kitt O’Malley

    Thank you.

  7. akakimleea Avatar
    akakimleea

    Thank you!

  8. wcwhitfield Avatar
    wcwhitfield

    Love covers a multitude 1 Peter 4:8… and simply changing how you react to something is very crucial and make or break the situation. I’m thankful for your post

  9. Kitt O'Malley Avatar
    Kitt O’Malley

    NAMI.org has Family-to-Family class and support groups for family members of those living with mental illness.
    https://www.nami.org/Find-Support/Family-Members-and-Caregivers
    FIND HELP IN A CRISIS
    CALL THE NAMI HELPLINE
    800-950-NAMI
    TEXT “NAMI” TO 741741
    info@nami.org
    M-F, 10 AM – 6 PM ET
    Best of luck. Take care of yourself. It’s crucial that your husband get treatment. Speaking to other family members can be a tremendous support to you.

  10. akakimleea Avatar
    akakimleea

    How do you do it?my husband has a mental illness too, it’s driving me man.im not happy,I feel like running away

  11. Kitt O'Malley Avatar
    Kitt O’Malley

    Congratulations on your marriage. Thank you for the work you do to blend your families and share your experience with others. Best wishes for your marriage and blended family. God bless.

  12. Michael and Joya Avatar
    Michael and Joya

    This is wonderful! Congratulations! What a testament. We have a blog promoting marriage and you guys have clearly worked hard at it! https://marriedstrong.com/

  13. Kitt O'Malley Avatar
    Kitt O’Malley

    Congrats to you two!

  14. Kitt O'Malley Avatar
    Kitt O’Malley

    Thank you! You know what it’s like to love deeply.

  15. Kitt O'Malley Avatar
    Kitt O’Malley

    My husband and son both live with anxiety. Not easy, but at least we have compassion for each other and try to help each other out.

  16. violaetcetera Avatar
    violaetcetera

    Happy anniversary! I absolutely agree, people with a mental illness can live in a long and fulfilling relationship, (my husband and I started dating 30 years ago). Of course it can be difficult, but it’s definitely possible.

  17. Looking for the Light Avatar
    Looking for the Light

    We both are blessed!

  18. bpnurse Avatar
    bpnurse

    Happy anniversary you two! You deserve to celebrate and enjoy each other every day for the next 22 years and beyond.

  19. marandarussell Avatar
    marandarussell

    Congrats! My husband and I both suffer with severe anxiety and depression at times, but I’m so glad we have each other!

  20. Kitt O'Malley Avatar
    Kitt O’Malley

    Without a doubt. Not easy. I take my meds, go to therapy, and have an easier time of it than some.

  21. Kitt O'Malley Avatar
    Kitt O’Malley

    Thanks! We plan on living the rest of our lives together. Hopefully we’ll live long lives.

  22. Kitt O'Malley Avatar
    Kitt O’Malley

    Thank you!

  23. Looking for the Light Avatar
    Looking for the Light

    Worth celebrating everyday. It’s very hard and to many relationships can’t handle the strain. 🙂

  24. Cassandra Stout Avatar
    Cassandra Stout

    Congratulations on so many years of being together! I hope there are many more.

  25. Christine Avatar
    Christine

    Hi Kitt happy anniversary to you both hope you have many more years of happiness x

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