Hi Kiwiinwa
(This is the 2nd post of this ... I think the first one got eaten).
Thank you for reaching out to Beyond Blue at this hellishly difficult time for you. I cannot imagine how you are managing at the moment, but can I just please welcome you to this site and to say that we will give you 100% support always and will try to understand your situation and if we can, possibly offer some kind of advice.
Your husband has obviously been suffering very badly from depression or related kind of illness and it must be just absolutely horrifying for you to have to watch this unfold (afterwards, I imagine) as well as for him – in the lead up, and also afterwards and how he is (and how you are) now.
Prior to this were you aware that your husband was suffering? Had you talked about it at all? I guess the one thing I can offer now is that out of this it is known by all the ones who are close to him – you, your/his GP that this is where is mind is at. From this, I really don’t know what happens out of this, but I would assume that counselling will be offered as well as regular GP checkups yes? Close monitoring over the next while to make sure that he is doing ok and that as the days go by, he is hopefully journeying away from that dark hellish place where his mind was.
If you weren’t aware of his illness (and believe me Kiwiinwa, this isn’t as odd as it sounds, because as sufferers of mental health issues, we are very good at covering up our symptoms to hide them away from pretty much most everyone) then it must have come as a massive body blow to you. I’ve mentioned that your husband will obviously need counselling following on from this, but I really believe that you should be seeking out something along these lines as well. Um, what ages are your children and as a result, how aware are they of what happened? This could be an important issue to take on board as well.
Do you have other support mechanisms in place – other extended family, close friends, etc to lean on for support?
I’m sorry I’ve posted so many questions, but it will serve us better on here so the other members of this forum will be better informed of your situation (as long as you feel comfortable in doing so – and please remember that this is completely anonymous as well).
Kind regards
Neil
