I’m 27M and my wife is 23F. Her mom passed away about 3 months ago, and since then things have been really hard.
Her mom was overseas, and she wasn’t able to go to the funeral. I think that’s made everything even heavier for her. She’s also the third child, but now she feels like she has to step up and take care of her family, so there’s a lot of pressure on her.
I’ve been trying everything I can think of to help. I have being there for her, planning dates, giving her space when she needs it, but nothing seems to actually help her feel better or even relax. She’s also refusing therapy because she believes it won’t help and that no one can really understand what she’s going through.
I’m starting to feel overwhelmed and honestly a bit helpless. I care about her a lot and hate seeing her like this, but I don’t know what else to do. It feels like no matter how hard I try, it’s not enough.
For anyone who’s gone through something similar, either personally or supporting a partner, what actually helped? What should I be doing or not doing?
I’m open to any advice. Thank you in advance.
TL;DR: I’m 27M, my wife is 23F. Her mom passed away 3 months ago overseas and she couldn’t attend the funeral. She now feels like she has to step up and take care of her family, so she’s overwhelmed. I’ve tried everything, being there, planning dates, giving space but nothing seems to help her relax or feel better. She refuses therapy because she thinks no one will understand. I feel helpless and like I’m not doing enough, and it’s starting to get to me. Money is tight so I can’t plan trips. How can I actually support her through this?