There are challenges that come with dealing with a mental illness. We all know that already. What about dating? Do you think about that and what to tell the other person? I’m sure most of you have at one point or another. Tell them or not? When’s the best time to let them know?
I don’t think the first date is a good time to let them know. This is a lot of times someone you’re just meeting be it from friends or family setting you up. Maybe it’s a co-worker or someone you’ve known somewhat for awhile, but not super well. Or maybe it’s someone you met on a dating app. Personally, I wouldn’t let them know. For some, this might scare them, and that’s not what we want to do.
I’d say the best time to wait is until you’re an item. You know boyfriend/girlfriend or whatever. Someone who’s in this and you feel you can trust. There’s some who would use this information against you and such, so I think being cautious is a wise idea. Wait a month. Get to know the person and they can get to know you.
They’ll have a chance to see you for you before you let them know about your illness. It will help to show them you have more than one side. But, you for sure don’t want to wait too long because then they might think you were going to hide it from them, which I’d advise never, ever doing.
You need to someone on your side. Someone who will stick through the bad stuff. I know if my husband would have told me early on that he was bi-polar, I’d freaked out. I was a teen when we met, so that would have been a lot to deal with. Now, he didn’t even find out until a few years ago.
What do you think is a good time frame to tell the person your dating?
Allyson is a published author, blogger, wife and mom to 4 kids. Three of her children are on the autism spectrum. She suffers from anxiety and panic attacks. On her blog you can find her writing about being an author, her faith and family. She resides in Missouri with her loving husband and four wonderful children, and three cats. She’s addicted to knitting and coffee.
You can follow Allyson on her website, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.
Defying Shadows 