Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Support Group

Find support with others who have gone through a traumatic experience. Whether you have chronic or acute PTSD, we are here for you.

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Anxiety Disorders
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Shutting Down...

PTLOVESD
PTLOVESD
Lately I have started to feel the secondary PTSD come on. It goes and comes and it actually has been away for a while, but it recently just hit me. When it comes I don't know how to mangae it and then i become pushy and annoying towards my boyfriend who has PTSD. Just a quick background on him, since that seems to come up each time in each post...he is an Iraqi veteran marine, no he is not in counseling, but does have an appointment scheduled and I hope this time he makes it. He has been diagnoised for about 10 years and we have only been together for 9 months, so needless to say we are still a work in progress. Hence why I am on here. Anyway I am starting to realize that sometimes when he needs a break, I also need a break. I am also having difficulty with the fact that he tends to limit our interactions with other people, including his family. His niece and nephew are older and when I am not around he hangs out with them all the time, but when I am there and suggest we should hang out with them or invite them on what ever it is we are doing, he does not want to. I am not allowed to see any of his friends because he fears that they will hit on me. We even went shopping the other day because I needed new clothing for a new job and he started to get anxiety over the number of guys that would be hitting on me. So he keeps me sheltered from the rest of his life and I find it difficulty to deal with this.
Any suggestions....?
donnawanda
donnawanda
I'm probably not the most qualified to respond to this post, but I will say this: what he's doing is not good and I suggest you nip it in the bud. You must let him know it is not acceptable. If he cannot deal with his girlfriend having contact with the larger world (which includes other men) then he is not ready for a relationship.

This is actually a dangerous trend and there are people in this group who have seen exactly how ugly things can turn with a person with that mindset.. Please be very careful going forward.
Community Leadermujicaptsd
mujicaptsd
I am a guy with PTSD and I second what donna is saying. It's not judging us guys to face facts when we're not ready for a relationship. It's paying attention to what's what. He would hate to hurt your feelings or abuse you in any way by trying to isolate with you, but he might not be able to help himself right now given where he is with his PTSD.
LeoX3
LeoX3
and count me in on the above.... he is isolating you. Red flag.

gentlest hugs
arfie
arfie
Guys don't have a monopoly on difficulty with being ready for a relationship.

Even when both parties are ready, it takes lots and lots of time to work out all the gory, little details. I just passed my 34th anniversary and suspect another 34 years won't be enough to work it all out. We are STILL a works in progress.

Be honest. Be patient. Hold the love sacred when understanding falls through.
gigglemon
gigglemon
My opinion is completely biased here. Let me work through his "issues" and you work through ur own. Later down the road maybe you can reconcile the relationship but being isloated sucks!! Esp when u are isloated with someone with ptsd. We can ll be unreasonable and ridicuouks at times but ptsd seems to amplify those occurances to bigger issues than they need to be. My husband was not diagnosed with ptsd but he def shows signs of it. The more he n isloated me the deeper into depression and unstablity I became. Now that I have stepped away and go out into the world ( oh yea he hated that andfought long and hard against it) I get stronger and more confident all the time.
Please remember that your journey is what yoh are responsible for.
Hugs
jewells1
jewells1
I lived through that.....barely.
Take care of you.
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