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Relationships can be hard work but dating a person with mental health problems can be extra-challenging.
Unless you’ve been through depression and anxiety yourself, it’s hard to know what the other person is dealing with. There’s often nothing you can do or say to help them feel better, no matter how hard you try.
However, one man might just have figured out an incredible way to support his significant other when she goes into that dark place.
The guy who goes by the name bodaveez on Rddit and Imgur posted a picture of a “jar of affirmation” that he made for his girlfriend, who suffers from what he describes as “sometimes, crippling depression” and anxiety. The jar is meant to give her a boost on her bad days.
"I saw this idea somewhere online and decided to make her something like it," he wrote in the caption.
He colour-coded the sticks into four categories – from quotes and reminders to things to help her relax plus a set of blank sticks on which she can write about things that make her happy.
Metro UK reported that the colour orange is dedicated to inspirational quotes by poets and political figure, while yellow, which represents reminders, are positive words to help her through the day like “you’re beautiful” and “it’s ok to ask for help”.
The purple sticks are tips to help her relax while she’s working on her masters.
“She sometimes gets so caught in what she's doing she becomes overwhelmed and doesn't even realize it,” he wrote in a comment on his on his Reddit post.
He added he’s not sure if this will make a difference but he says the point is to show her he cares enough to try.
“Living with someone who completely shuts down from both of these problems, I’m trying to see if it’ll help,” he writes in the comments.
He also put a pen in the jar with blank sticks so she can record moments when she’s the happiest, and then she can later pull out one of those when she needs it.
“It hasn’t been easy and I know I have a long road ahead of me but I'm trying,” he says.
“She’s very special to me … [the] least I can do is try to help. I’m sure there are plenty of guys like me around. Our relationship has been the most challenging of my life but also the most enjoyable,” he says.
What a hero!
