I have been with my boyfriend for 6 months now and our relationship has become very serious. He had just left the Marines when we met and had served for 2 years in Iraq. Though he rarely talks about it, i know that it must deeply bother him everyday.
He's startled by loud noises and gets very anxious whenever something happens that makes him jump, though he will deny it up and down. Almost everything about his experience in Iraq is kept to himself. Shortly after we first met I found that he had very bad scars on his shoulder and upper arm, the fact that he didn't tell me he was wounded and waited for me to find out made me very concerned.
It's as though he has two sides and doesn't want me to know how he really feels. I love him to death and I don't want him to be hurt, but He gets anxious when I try to talk about it and changes the subject very quickly. He was put on anti-depressants and sleep-aids by the VA, but i know he needs more therapy than that. Should I talk to a private counselor, and convince him to go along with me? Or should I just give him space until he realizes that he needs help?
He's startled by loud noises and gets very anxious whenever something happens that makes him jump, though he will deny it up and down. Almost everything about his experience in Iraq is kept to himself. Shortly after we first met I found that he had very bad scars on his shoulder and upper arm, the fact that he didn't tell me he was wounded and waited for me to find out made me very concerned.
It's as though he has two sides and doesn't want me to know how he really feels. I love him to death and I don't want him to be hurt, but He gets anxious when I try to talk about it and changes the subject very quickly. He was put on anti-depressants and sleep-aids by the VA, but i know he needs more therapy than that. Should I talk to a private counselor, and convince him to go along with me? Or should I just give him space until he realizes that he needs help?