Is it normal for someone suffering depression to lie and have addictions

[Angel_love]

Hi was wondering does anyone else have partners suffering with depression who lie and suffer from addictions

is it something that's a part of depression I'm trying to understand it Trying to support and understand depression is not easy

thank you so much

[geoff]

Hello Angel, thanks for posting your comment which is sad but certainly understandable as I was in your same position at one stage in my life.

I'm not qualified to say but am able to mention my experience and talking solely from that or what's happened to people I know.

Addiction may start and it could also include chocolate etc where people, like myself, was suffering from depression and different forms of anxiety, hoping that it was able to numb how I felt.

I didn't believe that it was the cure but help get me over this hump I was suffering from, unfortunately, it was one part that led to my divorce that I didn't want to occur.

Trying to know what depression means, entails so many different factors with the major one being getting help from your doctor and those that have been in exactly the same situation.

Would you like to open up as much as you want to, then help can be provided.

Hope to hear back from you.

Geoff.

[White_Rose]

Hello Angel love

Hello and thanks for posting in to the forum. I am sad to hear your problem but not certain if you are talking about yourself or your partner. Is it your partner who has depression? May I ask what sort of things he lies about. Is it about how he feels or about something else. Sometimes lying can seem to be easier than telling the whole truth about something.Talking about your own depression can be painful so often people will say they are fine etc when in reality they are not.

May I ask about his addiction? It is something that can easily happen whether it's alcohol or chocolate. It can be an attempt to self medicate, especially with alcohol. Something to make us feel better and pretend we are OK.

If you look at The Facts tab at the top of the page you can navigate to the fact sheets written by beyondblue. There is a great deal of information available. You can download the sheets and print what you need. Perhaps your partner would like to read them as well. It's often easier to cope with an illness when you know what it's about. There are also some booklets which you can send for free of charge. One booklet is for family and friends of those with depression and explains matters from the family point of view. I suggest you get this.

Can you expand a bit on what is troubling you. It's useful to allow you to get all your concerns into the open and helps us to support you.

Mary