Depression After Wedding Bells

It is usually assumed that after a wedding, things are peachy, and as far away from being depressing as a person can get. However, while the edical and psychiatric communities have not yet come to accept it, post-nuptial depression is not entirely impossible. The situation (as this doesn’t quite qualify as a “condition”) often sets in early on in a marriage, sometimes right after wedding itself. While the psychiatric community has yet to acknowledge it, more and more newlywed couples are recognizing it as a very real thing.

The problem, some say, is caused by expectations. Marriage involves numerous changes in the relationship between two people, as well as adjusted expectations. While those who are about to be married tend to be told to expect major changes, many of them don’t seem to really grasp all of the ways that a relationship can be altered by saying the words “I do.” Many, for example, tend to have unrealistic thoughts on how things would progress, and often suffer episodes of depression when things don’t go as planned. There are also some couples that don’t quite adjust well when faced with the realization that, once married, they’re no longer in the same spotlight that they had prior to their wedding vows.

Some couples even have the mistake notion that they’re not supposed to fight, and can often buy into the “honeymoon period” myth so much that they find even the slightest argument as a catastrophe. Therapists, naturally, would be quick to point out that fighting and disagreements, even early on in a marriage, are perfectly normal. In fact, it would be considered abnormal if a married couple didn’t fight. However, it is not normal for one or both partners to experience episodes of depression so early on, even if the realization of being married can cause many people to feel some doubt or sorrow over their decision