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armywife9

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I have been an army wife for almost 9 years, I have supported my husband thru four deployments and things have just gotten so difficult. My husband has lost all attraction for me, he doesn't even want to hug or kiss me. This is really hard to deal with and I just wanted to see if there are others out there dealing with the same thing. How to deal or anything that may help.

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Hi armywife9

Welcome to the forum.

There are a few army wives on here, who are struggling with the same issue. Unfortunately it is a part of PTSD that seems to catch up with all supporters eventually.

come down the supporters section, where you will find lots of support, advice and explanations for so much of what goes on.

Remember this is not you, you have done nothing wrong, and deep down he probably does still love you as he always did, but the PTSD is more than enough for him to cope with just now.

You will understand more in time, but for now taking care of you is where you should start. As then you will feel stronger to cope with your husbands PTSD issues.

Keep going it can get easier in time.

Amethist
 
Hi armywife, you found a good place to learn more about PTSD. With knowledge comes acceptance and with acceptance comes the strength to better help yourself in coping with your husband's disorder. In turn, you will be able to understand more what he is going through.
 
AW9 -

You are not alone at all. Amethist is correct that there are women who will totally understand and "get" your situation. It's both a small and large amount of comfort. :) They'll pop up with support for you. We all have the same underlying story, just different variations - but still, the same basic issues. Learn what you can about combat ptsd, and do a search for it on this site, you will get some answers.

AB
 
Hi there,theres a whole bunch of us combat ptsd supporters on here,I'm sure you will find all our posts,read read read.
 
Armywife, I have been married 17 years and my husband came home from Afganistan almost 3 months ago with the same feelings your husband is having. I know it's causing you a terrible amount of pain. It's hard to go through all those deployments and everything it takes to make it through, to have your husband return and be unsure if he wants to be with you.

It is not about you though. Your husband is hurting, confused and trying to avoid feeling. My husband described himself as feeling numb and dead inside. He seemed to be in pain when I would try to hug him. I blamed myself, I thought I must have hurt him in some way even though I felt like I had been nothing but supportive. He tried to convince me I would be better off without him, saying "If I let you go, you'll have no problem finding someone better for you." If you havn't heard something like that yet you probably will.

I started looking up symptoms of PTSD because I knew nothing about it except nightmares. I found information that listed his symptoms and pointed it out to him. He made the call to see a counselor the next day. Your husband really needs to see someone. My husband sees a psychiatrist once a week and attends group therapy with other guys suffering from combat PTSD once a week. He enjoys the group therapy, if you could find out if thats available for your husband that might be a slow start, if he doesn't want to jump right into seeing a counselor.

Things for us are better than they were. Not what they used to be, but better. I can hug him and kiss him now and receive one in return. He no longer seems to be in pain from being touched.

Read everything you can and come here to vent and feel you're not alone. That's what has gotten me through so far. I still have low times and tough days and long for the way things use to be. Busy yourself like you did while he was deployed. It will consume you if you don't stay busy.

Another good book is "Courage after fire". Encourage your husband to read the books also. Take care
 
Hi ArmyWife,

I'm not a supporter of someone with PTSD I'm a sufferer, and I know my husband finds it hard going sometimes.
I love him very much but I if he touches me I get snappy and stressed, it's not that I don't want to I just can't.

I really hope you find the support you need, I hate having PTSD but I feel for the carers as well it;s hard on you to.
 
Hi Jo May,
I really appreciate your comments, it is a hard thing to comprehend. I have reading as much as I can on combat PTSD. So you say that you just don't want to be touched, how long has that been the case for you ( if you don't mind me asking)

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Thanks Navy Spouse, for taking the time and telling me about your experiences, everything that everyone is saying has been such a big help. I will keep reading all i can and stay busy. Thanks for you response it means so much.

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