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Relationship Is It Common At All For A PTSD Sufferer To Cheat On Their Spouse?

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zazazawa

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Hi everyone again. I posted before about my husband and his new girlfriend and wanted to update people on some things and hopefully get more opinions from you all.

Well my husband has made a couple appt.'s with a psychologist/psychiatrist team so far and he has been diagnosed with PTSD and supposedly 2 other anger disorders he says. They said that they will try different treatments but he may have to be admitted to a hospital for up to 2 months or so.

Just to update over the past 4 months we've been seperated and he always goes from "I love u this has nothing to do with you and when I get better I WILL be back" to "I dont love you, I want a divorce." Well a few weeks ago he has gotten stuck on "I love my new girlfriend, I want a divorce. I cant be with you right now cause everytime I see or hear you it makes me too angry and that he wants to see me but he cant." I told him I want to stay with him and support him through this but he completely shut me out.

The last time I talked to him was on my birthday, the 25th. He actually called me and was pleasant and said that he was planning on changing his phone number and when he did he would give it to me. The next day it was off and I still dont have the number and no one will give it to me.

I want to think that he still loves me but he INSISTS that he doesnt love, miss or think about me anymore and that he LOVES this nasty girlfriend. Have any of you gone through this before? I mean about the cheating. Its so tuff for me cause I have to let him go but I just still love him like crazy and just want to be there for him. He says he wants me to go on with my life and if our love is meant to be than he'll be back. It hurts me terribly though to think that he's super happy with a girl that he met a few months ago and we've always been there for each other for over 7 years.

Please give me any responses you have that would be helpful. Do PTSD sufferers usually come back when they get proper treatment? I am going on with my life and trying my best to make myself happy but he is always on my mind and he hasnt even gotten me papers yet.

Thanks a bunch!

-Heidi
 
Thanks Manic11. No it doesnt give him the right at all to do this to me. Thats why Im worried cause he said that its our marriage AND his PTSD problem combined. I wish we could have worked on our marriage and he kept saying that we could he would just have to work on his problem first. Do you think that he is just trying to latch on SOMEONE since he has shut me and almost his family out and doesnt have many friends besides this one girl? Somedays he says that he loves her and the next he says he doesnt love her or himself or anything. Its so confusing...
 
Well here's a lil confession session. I did sleep with someone else at the end of my last relationship (my best friend at the time, who really, I was far more suited to). It was a one off thing - not an 'affair', but still. Wont go into the details. It was wrong. It's also part of the reason I've always maintained my breakup had nothing to do with PTSD. I simply had fallen out of love and just took far too long to be honest about that/face that because I genuinely cared about my ex. In truth, sometimes leaving is the kindest and most loving thing to do. I did not want to be with that person anymore. Not every breakup with someone with PTSD is about PTSD. Breakups hurt for whatever reason - this is a discussion which gets looped over and over - it's not always PTSD that can be blamed or used as an excuse for the failure of a relationship. This is just my experience and everybody is different.

Also, I will just add - that isn't to say that my ex partner wasn't dealing with PTSD symptoms and that they played no part in the relationship. They certainly did. But at the end of the day - if I had to 'blame' something honestly on the failure of the relationship, it wouldn't be PTSD.
 
Hey Superjen. Thanks for the honest reply which I know is a very likely possiblilty even though I hate it. He has told me that he has fallen out of love with me but I dont know why he kept telling me that he did still love me. Am I just keeping too much hope still? When you fell out of love with your ex do you think that you would ever want to go back? If the person you fall out of love with goes back to the person OR better than the person you did first fall in love with WOULD you want to give them another chance? Do you think that if he breaks up with this girl that he might want to work on us again(that is if Im even willing anymore)?
 
I genuinely can't answer that for you zazazawa - everybody is different. I can only give you my experience. My experience is - at the very beginning of the breakup I probably would've been more inclined to go 'oh it's my PTSD'. But no - two completely separate issues. I think, honestly, it was a very 'safe' relationship with my ex. We were very good friends basically. Supportive of each other, etc. None of the things that differentiate 'friends' from 'partners' were there by the end. I had fallen so out of love I actually did something I never thought I'd do - ie, be unfaithful. I personally think if there is cheating going on in a relationship you've got some very real problems there. And they extend beyond 'but it's PTSD'. That's just my opinion and my experience.
 
I personally dont think that PTSD gives anyone an excuse to cheat. I may be sick with this mental illness that makes me sad, angry, grumpy, disassociate, etc, but I am still responsible for my actions and I know what I am doing (unless I am disassociating at the moment...)

The logic that says that PTSD makes me cheat would also say that premenstrual syndrome made me shoot the driver who cut me off.
"Your Honor, some people just need killin'."
 
Exactly 2quilt. It doesn't give anyone the right to cheat. For me to say 'I cheated because of PTSD' is as ridiculous as my partner thinking 'she cheated because of PTSD'. The word denial springs to mind.

However, that said - infidelity does happen and it can be overcome. So I don't wanna be as black and white as to say 'if your partner cheats it is over'. It does happen that relationships can continue after something like that. I suppose the issue becomes whether or not both people are committed to saving the relationship.Truly committed to saving it and wanting to be in it. In my case - no. My biggest mistake was prolonging the inevitable until it reached something as wrong as infidelity.
 
I know this thread is fairly old but I wanted to post for zazazawa bc I can relate in a way. My husband suffers from PTSD and has for more then the 7 years we have been together due to being a Marine and being in war. My husband has left me or walked out on me 3 times over the course of our relationship of 7 years, 2 of those time have been during our 5 year marriage. Just as someone stated when he is away there is little to no contact with me or anyone really, he will send texts or leave messages when he knows I am asleep. The messages range from I love you and I miss you so much, you deserve so much better then me and then they will go to you hurt me so much and I don't love you anymore, I want a divorce. During our seperations I have always stood by him and reminded him of the wonderful man he is and how real our love is. Usually writing an actual letter on paper helps cause they can read it over and over again. When he tries to be mean to me I just respond with you can try to push me away as much as you want but it wont work bc we are stronger then this. I know you love me so when you ready I will be here for you always. They need to know your not going anywhere. Seeking help is always a good idea. The longest he was away was 6 weeks before we were married, the second time was a week and a half while being married and the third most recent time was for 3 weeks. So as a wife of a husband with PTSD I can relate to most of you and I am here to help in anyway I can or to just listen and maybe even ask for advice. Goodluck to you all and have a blessed day.
 
Yes, old thread, @Erica1311 I just want to point out the big overgeneralizing in the title of this thread. It is not common for PTSD sufferers to cheat on their spouses IMHO and PTSD is not an excuse to cheat on a spouse.
 
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The longest he was away was 6 weeks before we were married, the second time was a week and a half while being married and the third most recent time was for 3 weeks. So as a wife of a husband with PTSD I can relate to most of you and I am here to help in anyway I can or to just listen and maybe even ask for advice. Goodluck to you all and have a blessed day.

Did you ask where he went? My vet did this earlier in the week for a day, but came home because I contacted his mom, in the event he was planning on hurting himself I needed a third party involved.
 
Did you ask where he went? My vet did this earlier in the week for a day

It is common for sufferers to isolate. Many of them use it as a coping mechanism when they are dealing with more stress than they can handle. Rather than asking him where he went, it may be a good idea to give him some time to feel better. If he was just isolating, and he is not generally a cheater, then it is doubtful he was out cheating that day. Often time isolation has nothing to do with the relationship or them wanting to isolate from YOU, it is about them needing space.
 
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