A woman's blues bring a relationship down
Wednesday, March 30, 2011 - 14:30
in Psychology & Sociology
Depression erodes intimate relationships. A depressed person can be withdrawn, needy, or hostile -- and give little back. But there's another way that depression isolates partners from each other. It chips away at the ability to perceive the others' thoughts and feelings. It impairs what psychologists call "empathic accuracy" -- and that can exacerbate alienation, depression, and the cycle by which they feed each other.