How can the quality of your relationship affect your mental health?

If your relationship with your partner is no longer satisfactory (causes you anxiety, distress), this can honestly affect your mental health in the form of anxiety disorders, depression, eating disorders, alcohol or drug abuse, etc. The mental illness most studied in the context of marital distress is depression. The important question here is of course: Does relationship distress cause mental illness or does mental illness cause relationship stress?

Previous longitudinal research suggests that relationship problems often lead to mental health problems, not the other way around. To illustrate, one study found that individuals (without initial depression) who were unhappy in a relationship had three times more likely to develop depression like those in happy relationships.

Of course, other factors also contribute greatly to the whole, but a happy relationship should definitely not be neglected. And what is a happy relationship? As part of the research, it is considered as a relationship with which we in satisfied most of the time and does not cause us emotional distress. But as the research found, marital distress can trigger the development of mental illness only in those who are prone to it.

How can the quality of your relationship affect your mental health?

The research also found that individuals in high-conflict relationships are most likely to use harmful emotion regulation techniques such as self-blame, denial, or fueling conflicts. This is important because problems with emotion regulation are associated with an increased risk of developing psychopathology. For example, if we do not feel supported by our partner, we can become more vulnerable to stressors in various areas such as work, school and social life.

A conflict-filled romantic relationship can cause a lot of stress, research has found. For individuals who are vulnerable to mental health problems, however, relationship distress can trigger mental health symptoms.