Now He's In Denial

[Glara]

He told me he had PTSD back in June, but when I saw him last week he mentioned " when I had PTSD". I'm not sure what to think. I didn't ask if he's still in therapy, I believe he is. He said he isn't taking any meds.

I guess I'm just wondering if this is common, denial it thinking it's over. He's been hyper alert for the last few months so I was surprised when he referred to the PTSD in the past tense. Any thoughts?

 

[joeylittle]

He could have meant "when my symptoms were really bad". You should ask him.

 

[Deleted member 19804]

It could mean a lot of things. It really depends on what kind of perdon he is. It could be what @joeylittle said. It could also be that he's feeling vulnerable now that you know about his PTSD and he doesn't want you to think he's weak. Maybe he just doesn't want to talk about it.

If you want, you can ask him about it, but gently. Us PTSD people are quite easily spooked and tend to push others away while we actually want them close to us. A good tactic for talking to him about this might be to tell him you're a little confused as to whether or not he has PTSD. Then let him know that you're there for him if he ever wants to talk about it (if that is in fact what you want to do), that you're not going to judge him. He might even be testing you to see if he can easily push you away. But again, maybe it was just a misunderstanding.

I'm sure you'll be fine :hug:

 

[Glara]

Well I'm not asking anything right now because I can tell he's getting worse again, although he mentions his abuse frequently since he told me about it. Took him some 30 yrs. I responded to his most recent reference to abuse that I can't undo it, but I'm here as long as he wants me to be. I get the sense that when he's not so symptomatic he thinks he's ok. Anyway, he seems to be trying to keep communication open right now. I can tell it's happening again though. I wonder if he knows and is trying to hide it or if when it happens he doesn't realize it right away.

 

[joeylittle]

I get the sense that when he's not so symptomatic he thinks he's ok. Anyway, he seems to be trying to keep communication open right now. I can tell it's happening again though. I wonder if he knows and is trying to hide it or if when it happens he doesn't realize it right away.

Speaking for myself, I definitely can think I'm more OK than I am when my symptoms are (seemingly) low. And also that I don't realize things are sliding downhill right away, still.