I'm 25 and was diagnosed with anxiety and depression around age 12. I've been on varying dosages of zoloft ever since. I haven't seen a therapist in 9 years because money's tight, I've been pretty stable until recently, and trying to find the right one is daunting.
I've been going out with the man of my dreams for 8 months, and worried my illness may destroy "us".
My desire to be a great girlfriend can manifest as clingy-ness and dependence; I end up asking what he wants all the time and have a hard time asserting- or even finding- my own wants. Neither of us find this attractive.
My anxiety about making people (particularly people in the service industry) unhappy comes off as criticism. For example, I prefer to organize a restaurant table for the busboy at the end of a meal. My partner feels judged when he does not do the same. When a Lyft/Uber driver arrives, I find myself rushing my partner so we don't make the driver wait, even if my partner is doing something important. I know he's right that it's usually ok to be a minor inconvenience, and that most of what I worry about probably doesn't even matter to the server/driver/cashier/etc.
My anxiety activates my depression, which means a lot of crying that neither of us can really understand. He is incredibly supportive but told me he feels weakened by all this.
He fell in love with the cool, outgoing, single me. I hate that I become so introverted, sad, and annoying after I become a girlfriend.
I want to access my real self so I can stop weighing down my partner.