General I Shouldn't Have Asked The Question.

[ForestMa]

The last few days my husband has been really struggling. The only time he seems somewhat happy is when he is playing with our daughter, I guess it's a good thing he still plays with her. He used to be super affectionate with me and now isn't at all, not violent just ambivalent. We cuddle at night but that's it. Y

Yesterday was a rough day, I told him, "As long as this family is still what you want, we will get through this."
His response was not great, he basically told me that he loves me but couldn't say yes or no. Earlier in the week everything seemed fine, so he's either stopped putting a mask on around me or he's having a really rough few days.

I'm trying to remind myself that he is confused, frustrated and exhausted. I'm going to look into couples counselling to see if i can get better coping mechanisms.

 

[The Albatross]

Sounds like you're on the right track.

 

[ForestMa]

The more I think about it, the more I think he is just going through a rough patch. On Thursday we were at a friends house and apparently someone overheard him gushing about how much he loves me and our daughter. It's giving me hope.

 

[NovemberStar]

He sounds very depressed and possibly suicidal? Does he see a psychiatrist? Does he feel he can talk to the, reach out if he was feeling suicidal? If you have ANY concerns as to his safety, DO talk to his doctor - please don't assume 'he wouldn't do anything'.

 

[ForestMa]

He is depressed, currently his diagnoses is acute stress disorder ( his ship had a catastrophic fire that took 11 hours to get out and left them dead in the water). He is seeing someone and we are going to start couples counselling as well. His unit just tried to send him out to see for another few weeks, but I'm 8 months pregnant so he said no. I don't think he is suicidal, I've been down that road. However, I'm watching carefully for any changes.

 

[EvenStrongerNow]

It sounds like emotional numbing to me. It doesn't mean that he doesn't want his family. Perhaps reading about emotional numbing would help as it is a very common feature of PTSD and ASD. It sounds like you are going in the right direction. Some supportive counseling for yourself might be a good idea. Also, reading books about the three categories of symptoms of PTSD would be useful. The education will help you stay consistent in what he is dealing with.