General How Can I Help?

[lauralynn36]

My husband is diagnosed with PTSD from combat. When he got home he started drinking only on the weekends but he would get trashed. Now he has been drinking everyday almost, and not just one or two but enough to get drunk. He also combines pills with the boose and that really frightens me.

I have tried to talk to him about it but he sees nothing wrong. He says he is just having fun with the drinking and that he is taking the pills for pain. I am afraid if he continues he is going to hurt himself or others as he will drink in drive at times. I have tried everything from telling him how much i love him and how his actions could hurt his family as we have one son and one on the way, to asking out right if he thinks he may be self medicating to deal with his issues and if i can help. Nothing seems to get to him. He is in therapy but i dont know if he has mentioned the drinking to them. Is there anything i can do to help him get past his drinking and pill abuse issues?

Also, he has come back with a strange obsession with loosing weight. He is not overweight by any means and if he has any exsess weight it may be 5lbs. He will at times not eat much of anything and exersise exsessively and at others over eat and then feel bad and stop eating except for one meal a day that is a small salad or cup o noodles. I am guessing he does this because his weight is one thing he can control. Is his new obsession a normal PTSD symptom? and how can i help?

Thank you.

 

[Deleted member 541]

HI and welcome to the forum....

Sounds like your husband has developed some bad coping skills to deal with what he is going through. He thinks he can handle things with these coping skills, but he is really just fooling himself. Until he decides to really deal with his issues, he will continue down this path of self destruction.

It's a road that many of us have been down. The problem is, some of us, don't ever get to finish the trip, because we end up dead.....Harsh, yes, but truthful too. PTSD isn't anything to play around with, and yet, we have to be willing to face it.

I would keep trying to encourage him to be honest with what he is going through, how he feels, and to suggest that he talk to his therapist about his coping skills.

As far as the eating/weight issues are concerned......It's all about control. His world is so out of control that what he eats, when he eats, and how much he eats is about the only thing he feels he is able to control.......He is probably bordering on Anorexia/bulimia.

Keep reading and asking questions. Possibly ask your husband to join. This is the best place for help and understanding that he could ever want or need....

 

[dust]

Hello and welcome!

I had problems with bulimia - my therapist was VERY strict with me about this and make me stop. There is also an issue with making sure that we eat regularly, I think carbohydrates are beneficial when suffering from PTSD. I can't remember exactly why this was - something to do with dopamine in the brain? Mood is also affected by food.

Good coping strategies are essential - perhaps he won't be able to negotiate them all at the same time, but they need to be worked on hand in hand with all the other PTSD things - they are part of the battle and winning them over will help him to recover in the long term.

Best wishes,

dust