Hi, I'm new to this forum but not new to the military or the wonderful world of PTSD and "secondary PTSD"-- something that most people have never heard of. I have battled with my own PTSD from my time in service and was lucky that it wasn't severe and managed to work my way through it while I was single and stupid. I realize now that a lot of my stupid choices were made under the influence of anything that would make me feel different than I did. It didn't even have to be a good kind of different. Glad those days are over, but life isn't any easier.
My husband of 5 years just returned from his final 12 month deployment. He's being medically retired for an ungodly amount of issues that actually leave me wondering how he functions every day. Aside from 2 strains of malaria, a busted knee, irreparable shoulder and bad back, we're also dealing with his TBI and PTSD. This is when I learned there was such a thing as "secondary PTSD". Chris, your wife might benefit from looking into this and getting herself help. The wife often takes in the role of the "caretaker" of the spouse suffering from PTSD and it has it's own horrible manifestations that can destroy a marriage/relationship. Because I'm new here it won't let me post a link to this info but you can research it online or private message me about it.
Chris, you said that you miss the intimacy you had with your wife before all of this.. Let me tell you from first hand experience that Secondary PTSD will cause intimacy issues. It happened to my husband and I and I will admit that it was mostly on my part. He'd wan't to cuddle and be close at the end of the day but after walking on eggshells all day I didn't feel very sexy or in the mood. It felt like I was being used instead, and I know that's not the case at all. After feeling alone all day from tiptoeing around and trying to keep things as normal as possible sex just isn't in the cards. Its a feeling that comes with being in a relationship with PTSD in the mix and it's normal.. and yes, it sucks!!! Staying that way and not working through it is where it becomes abnormal. My husband and I rarely have arguments and have never been physically violent with each other- instead there's a very tense feeling between us, comments are short and gestures are cold. (I don't argue. I'd rather have a physical fight and either win or lose than have an argument that no one wins.) We try to keep things together but it feels more like we're strangers sharing a house sometimes and it's very lonely at times. It's all part of the vicious cycle and it took me years of deployments and going through those cycles to realize what was really going on.
I actually went to see some kind of shrink. He was a civilian doc because I HAD to be referred off post. He had no clue what he was talking about. Didn't understand PTSD and didn't understand that it does effect the spouse. He told me I could possibly have schizophrenia or bi-polar disorder because of how quickly I become angry and my mood swings.... guess what?? that's from secondary PTSD!! I've given up on getting "prefessional" help and have resorted to a small support group of people that are going through the same thing. Realizing you're not the only one makes things so much better and realizing everyone has bad days or weeks makes you feel a little less alone.