General Daughter Dating Someone With Ptsd

[Janine]

Hi, My daughter is dating a veteran,

My daughter is 22 and dating a wonderful man that suffers from PTSD. He is 26 and retired Army he serviced in Afghanistian. He has received I believe great help over the years but still has and I understand will aways suffer some degree from his past. My question is how can I help her and myself when we see changes in him. When they have couples stress or just life stress I can see a change in the way he acts and treats her and the people around him (me), not in a bad way but not as caring as he normally is. Any help...good books....advice?

 

[Crimson]

Janine,

Welcome!

I would say that you need to take your cues from your daughter if she is committed to him and has a deepish understanding of him and his issues. There are many levels of reaction and some of them require closeness and some of them require distance but all of them require understanding.

A question would be how well does your daughter know him/his habits and reactions?


Peace,
Crimson

 

[Janine]

Thanks for the response. My daughter is very committed to him but is still learning about PTSD, I know she needs to learn more. Looking for a place to learn this and information that will help both of them or in this case all of us. (I think of him as a son) I know PTSD can't be "fixed" but learning how to live with the mood changes will make life easier and better for everyone.

 

[IvyMillie]

Yes that is great. The more information you know the better off you and your daughter can be. There may be times she will have to realize that the way he is acting is because of PTSD and to not take it personally. It can also change depending on the person. He may have times he gets "triggered" and times he is fine. Hopefully, she can learn these times and learn how to cope with them.