@Glara - First of all, if you'll accept them from a complete stranger: :hug:
Yours is a crazy hard situation to be in, absolutely no doubt about that. Supporter's fatigue is real, the thoughts of giving up on them are real, the doubts about everything they ever said or did are real.
My vet hasn't written or said a word to me in weeks now, and I'd have to lie to say I haven't gone through every possible feeling in the book, from worry to rage, from determination to resignation, from doubt to realization and from love to hate and back.
I've got PTSD myself, but our coping mechanisms are so very different, one of us might as well be healthy for all the "good" that is doing us.
What I'm finding to be most exhausting about it all is the questions that will occupy a supporter's brain pretty much 24/7.
"Is he alive?", "Why can he talk to others but not to me?", "Was it all a big joke to him?", "Does he even remember I exist?", "Was it something I did?", "Is there anything I can do?", "I want to help, why won't he let me if he claims to love me?" - all that jazz that might apply to a "normal" relationship, but not (necessarily - I guess it CAN work in some cases) to one with a damaged soul.
Sad as it may be, there isn't a whole lot anyone can do. These battles with their own demons are something no one but them can face.
It took me longer than it should have, given our circumstances, to understand that, and a LOT of talking (on here as well as to my therapist and a select few friends) to find the most likely answers to all those damned questions keeping me up at night.
I guess all I can do is echo what has been said here before: You need to take care of yourself now. His fight is nothing you can help him with, no one knows his battles like he does, and no one else can fight them for him.
Just the other day, a mutual friend of ours (my vet's hospital-buddy's wife who had to learn the hard way how to handle a PTSD-sufferer herself) told me my guy was fighting for his life like a madman because he needs HIS life in order to get OUR life. It's pretty much all I heard about how he's really doing at this time of the year that tends to be hardest for him and many others.
She also told me that I should try to see getting cut off completely as a compliment in a really twisted sort of way. Many sufferers don't pull away from everyone, but only those they don't want to disappoint, those they want to be strong for, those who got too close to their most vulnerable spots.
They know, somewhere beyond the raging battles with themselves, that they're hurting those they love, but there isn't a damn thing they can do about it, so the only thing they CAN do is spare their partners the pain - and slam the door on the reaction they believe they deserve, which would be the message that they've been given up on.
Does that make any sense at all?
Anyway: YOU need to think about YOURSELF now.
Spoil yourself in any way you can. Spa (even spa-days at home), long walks in the cold (screaming your frustrations out into the world, if there is a place nearby where you can do that without having people staring at you), hobbies, maybe join a club or a support group to meet new people if you can, a cup of coffee somewhere you've always wanted to go but never did - that kind of thing. You've got to get your strength back up, physically and emotionally, because you, too, are in a battle, and it's not going to get easier with time.
Reading your messages, though, I do get the impression that you know it'll be worth it in the end. You held on for so long, this is not the time to give up now. He knows you care, he knows you are there for him, and that will stay with him through it all. Now all he needs is time to regain his footing and become the best person he can be - for the best version of you that YOU can be.
Me, I've decided that the best thing I can do is to dive head-first into my own war, kicking my therapy into overdrive, while my guy is fighting his, and if the fates allow, we'll both win and head on into a better, at least slightly easier future eventually.
Try not to let this tear you apart. It's the hardest thing in the world some days, especially in a time of the year where everyone around seems to be all unicorns, rainbows, love and happy families. It's enough to drive a girl insane, but this, too, shall pass.
Keep yourself distracted if you can (music is my drug of choice), hide in the corner and cry if you need to, rage when you want to, rant when it becomes too much. PTSD is one hell of a beast and an unbelievable burden on sufferers and supporters alike, love is not the cure-all Hollywood would like us to believe it is, but even the eternal pessimist in me does believe in happy endings sometimes.
Take care of yourself, first and foremost. Don't give up on yourself or your guy. Give it time, for both your sakes - and please forgive me for this novel. :oops:
Keeping you both in my thoughts and my fingers crossed for you. :)
~Owl