Sweetpea76
Moderator
To answer your short questions... yes people come here all the time when their partners leave them because of emotional numbing. It’s a symptom of PTSD. Unlike a bad coping mechanism, a symptom is something they cannot help. Eventually he may be able to manage it, or it may get better, but it’s not a guarantee. He may not get better.
EMDR therapy is a pretty common treatment method, and it is rough. If it helps it’s going to take time, and he may get a lot worse before he gets better if he gets better. Same with CBT. Treatment for PTSD isn’t like other therapies where you go talk to a therapist and you feel better. Trauma therapy is pretty hellish. Think in terms of years for treatment, not weeks or months.
Don’t plan your life around him getting better.... I think that’s the biggest piece of advice you’re getting here. It’s not a cold, it’s a mental illness. I know you know this, but do you “get” this? I’m a supporter too, and it took awhile for me to understand this. My partner’s a combat vet, and I look at his PTSD like any of his other combat injuries. Trauma injured his brain/psyche/soul... how ever you want to look at it. You cannot undo that, just like you cannot undo a gunshot wound.
Most of the people answering you are PTSD sufferers themselves. I’m a supporter who’s been with my partner for years. We’re probably hitting you with a lot of information at once, and it is confusing. It is all something you have to think about when you’re considering your PTSD relationship though. They’re not like other relationships.
EMDR therapy is a pretty common treatment method, and it is rough. If it helps it’s going to take time, and he may get a lot worse before he gets better if he gets better. Same with CBT. Treatment for PTSD isn’t like other therapies where you go talk to a therapist and you feel better. Trauma therapy is pretty hellish. Think in terms of years for treatment, not weeks or months.
Don’t plan your life around him getting better.... I think that’s the biggest piece of advice you’re getting here. It’s not a cold, it’s a mental illness. I know you know this, but do you “get” this? I’m a supporter too, and it took awhile for me to understand this. My partner’s a combat vet, and I look at his PTSD like any of his other combat injuries. Trauma injured his brain/psyche/soul... how ever you want to look at it. You cannot undo that, just like you cannot undo a gunshot wound.
Most of the people answering you are PTSD sufferers themselves. I’m a supporter who’s been with my partner for years. We’re probably hitting you with a lot of information at once, and it is confusing. It is all something you have to think about when you’re considering your PTSD relationship though. They’re not like other relationships.
Last edited: