I, too, know that my husband knows what I go through -- as others have said, he can't recognize it in the moment, when the depression has a hold of him. But in the better times, he has thanked me for standing by him when he thinks most people wouldn't. We had a great conversation about this not long ago, where he said he was so grateful to me. I told him that I also understand his plight -- that no matter how yucky I may feel while we're going through an episode, he probably feels a thousand times worse. I think we've each gained some perspective about what the other goes through.

And Roxy, that's some great perspective about "dragging" vs. "putting" us through it -- you are right, they are not intentionally doing this to us. The disease is what drags us both through it. I'm lucky that my husband is committed to working on managing his disease, though, and has been able to accept that it is a factor in his life he always has to watch out for. Onward from there!