Spouses of Veterans with PTSD?

**mama2James** · 09-14-2013, 06:11 PM

Hello all! Just reaching out to see if any villagers are fellow spouses of veterans/first responders with PTSD? My husband was in the Air Force with a combat deployment to the Middle East in 2008. It's always helpful to connect with others in similar situations.

**tripleb** · 09-14-2013, 06:57 PM

Hi - My husband also has PTSD. Spent 36 years in Canadian military where he did tours to not so nice places. My brother also has PTSD - he did quite a long tour in Afghanistan. Life is never the same and unless your doing the time people have a hard time understanding. Thank goodness it is being more talked about and accepted as a real condition.

**smk0817** · 09-14-2013, 07:01 PM

My DH wasn't in the military, but he's been in the fire dept for over 30 years. He suffers from PTSD as well. Now days they give you mandatory counseling after you are on a particularly difficult call. Years ago you were told to "man up" and deal with it. The sad thing is some of the things they saw, there is no getting over it.

**mama2James** · 09-15-2013, 11:07 AM

Thanks for taking the time to respond

i'm wondering if anyone would be willing to share how the PTSD has affected your finances? For us, it's difficult to communicate about the budget and long term plans, and DH's anxiety affects his feelings about having enough money, while at the same time he uses buying things as a way to "fix" his feelings at times.

**Rebecca.1964** · 09-15-2013, 02:24 PM

As an Army veteran (during peace time), I thank your spouses for having served. SMK0817, I thank your husband as well. PTSD is not limited to only members of the armed services. I do have a close friend who served in the Navy (submarine) during the Viet Nam war. I don't ask any questions of him. I was medically retired from the Army in need of a liver transplant and that experience has caused me my own kind of PTSD, My finances are okay, but I am single.

**CookieLee** · 09-15-2013, 02:41 PM

I personally have PTSD. Fortunately, I was helped quite a bit by a therapy that the US Veteran's Administration pioneered called EMDR. ( EMDR Institute, Inc. ) It is important to use a EMDR certified therapist in concert with traditional talk therapy but it really does work!

My husband suffers with repetitive head injury syndrome (partially from his military service) which causes impulse control. He sees a "good deal" on something like screwdrivers. He won't just buy one, he'll buy two dozen. Who in the world needs two dozen screwdrivers at home? Anyway, he takes anti-depressant medications and that helps a lot.

**msShopper12** · 04-29-2014, 01:36 AM

My husband read Ghosts in the Bedroom and he said it helped him a lot. Reading this thread gives me some point of view on how I might hurt my husband though. I'm only 2 years into my marriage. I need to keep in mind how much his feelings matter even if I'm hurting.