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How I Tell Potential Partners I Have a Mental Illness
Dating with schizophrenia can be difficult.
Over the last three weeks, I’ve been on two first dates. I downloaded a dating app for the first time a while back, but decided to actually begin using it recently. As a result, I’ve found myself talking to a lot of new people. I’m at the point in my life where I’ve begun genuinely looking for a serious relationship. I think I’m ready to settle down and find someone I can envision spending the rest of my life with. While this task is bad enough for the average person, I bring an extra consideration to the table: I have schizoaffective disorder, a combination between schizophrenia and a major mood disorder (in my case, it is depression).
Throughout my friendships and romantic entanglements, I’ve tried many different methods of telling people about my illness. I’ve completely kept it from some people, alluded to it but never named it with others, and mentioned it right out of the gate with still others. So far, I haven’t found a specific formula that works with every potential partner. Each person is different, and therefore requires different techniques to drop such a bomb. However, there are a few universal signs that it might be a good time to tell someone.
