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Husband with PTSD, how to help him?
My husband is honestly the sweetest man alive. He was diagnosed a few years ago with PTSD, although he never had to go war for our country to get it. He had a much more personal war on the home front that gave him the condition. I love him with all my heart and soul, and I want to help him in any way I can, but I don't know how to respond to him when he starts having an episode. He is really sensitive to smells, and I will admit I am not the best housekeeper. I am not a pig, but when he is having a stressful day, EVERYTHING stinks. He goes on cleaning frenzies, and if you interrupt him, he gets livid. It makes me really nervous and uncomfortable to see him like that, but I don't know how to help him. I feel so helpless, and him flying around the house in a frenzy gives me a lot of anxiety too. I love him so much...does anyone else have this disorder too? What can people do to help you calm down?
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Hi
Sometimes space is needed as long as he knows you're available if he needs to talk.
Is he in therapy? Do you go with him so you can share concerns? It sounds like you could use some support as well.
Trauma can be devastating yet there's good treatment that allows one to confront those issues. No matter how much we love we can't be a loved one's therapist.
Please get some support ...
Rox
You deserve an award for loving him and accepting him but love can make us compromise ourselves. Take care of your needs to.
having him in my life is more than I could ever ask for. He is amazing, and I love him with all my heart. That i why i am so desperately searching for anything i can do to help him. No matter what he says or does during his episodes, I know that he is always going to protect me and love me and that when the storm passes, he is still the man i fell in love with all those years ago. I just wish so much I could help him better. watching him like this breaks my heart and i know that when i cry it makes it worse...I just don't want him to hurt so much. it can be so hard to just walk away when he is like that. and so hard to remain calm myself.