My Wife Is Having an Identity Crisis
Sometimes the person you are married to goes through a personal crisis so severe and long-lasting that it eventually spills over into the marriage.
- Are there times you do not recognize the woman you married?
- Have you found yourself walking on eggshells around your wife?
- Does it feel like she has a "grass is greener" view of life outside the marriage?
The two most common crises I have seen, across thousands of men going through separation, are the stock-standard identity crisis (often called a midlife crisis, because of when it tends to hit) and postpartum depression.
START HERE
What Happened to the Woman You Married?
These articles will help you understand whether your wife is really going through a midlife or identity crisis, and if she is, how to support her and give your marriage the best possible chance.
9 Signs Your Wife is Having a Midlife Crisis
If your wife seems determined to push away — or decided no marriage could ever make her happy — she may be in midlife crisis. 9 signs to look for.
Read More →Why is Your Wife Having a Midlife Crisis?
Why is your wife having a midlife crisis? After 10+ years seeing these situations, there's always one common theme under the surface.
Read More →Stay-at-Home Wife Feels She Wasted Her Life and Wants Out
Your stay-at-home wife feels she wasted her best years on the marriage — and now she wants out. Here's how to respond when this is what's driving her.
Read More →IF YOU RECENTLY HAD A BABY
Could It Be Postpartum Depression?
I wrote these two after my own wife's bout with postpartum depression. It was one of the first hard things we ever faced together, and my hope is that they help any man standing where I was standing then.
9 Signs of Postpartum Depression I Wish I’d Seen Sooner
Postpartum depression in wives is often missed by new and experienced dads alike. I wish I'd seen these 9 signs in mine sooner.
Read More →How To Help Your Wife With Postpartum Depression
How do you help your wife through postpartum depression? Here's what I learned the hard way — practical steps for husbands navigating PPD with her.
Read More →I realized that regardless of what I had told myself, all the change and effort I put in was in pursuit of getting my wife back, not for myself. I did everything hoping she would see me and recognize me and change her mind... The biggest piece of advice I can offer the guys here, if I may, is to take a true, brutally honest look at your motivation for change. And find your "why" for self improvement that really is for yourself. Because despite understanding that divorce would be a possibility, I hadn't truly prepared for it and that reality check is pretty rough. So whatever it is, do it for you.
A real man we've worked with. Name changed for privacy.
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