I’ve written here about periods in my life when I was emotionally abusive to my family. It’s painful to look back on those times, harder still to bring it out publicly. But it’s one of the things I’ve had to do as part of recovery from depression. Women are capable of this same behavior, but judging by reports from therapists and the thousands of requests from women for help online, it’s far more common in men.

Because of my experience, I’m often asked for advice from the partners of...