Hi there.
Thank you all so much for everything you do to support each other on this forum. It is truly beautiful to see so many people focusing on self growth and creating an emotionally aware community together. I found out about C-PTSD less than a week ago, via an article a good friend posted about it. Reading that article was full of 'aha!' moments, as I realized how much the symptoms of C-PTSD influence my relationship. After the first article, I started reading more and looking up YouTube videos about it, trying to get as much information as I could. My looking into finding a therapist [for myself] that knows about C-PTSD is what led me here.
I will preface all this by saying that I try my best to be a good person, but am far from perfect. I deal with my own challenges of emotional disregulation when triggered (usually by family, but occasionally the highly stressful work situation, and now sometimes by arguments with my boyfriend), and actively try to work on them. However, I have been feeling some regression in this department as of late, as you will understand more as you read. Also, I absolutely adore my boyfriend and regularly put forth effort to do and say things that make him feel secure in our relationship and secure in his own being. He does the same for me, has influenced me to learn a lot about myself in the short 3 months we have been together, and has put a lot of effort towards self-growth in his life.
After I did a number of hours of research on C-PTSD, I told my boyfriend about it. It is quite possible that I experience some milder symptoms of C-PTSD from experiences in my childhood (which actually would explain the recurring nightmares of me trying to escape the house I grew up in), and the way I told him about it was in view of this. Basically, I said that I think we both experience some of these symptoms, and we watched a researched-based YouTube video about it together. He seemed to resonate with the material and was apparently very open to the idea of learning more about it and finding a therapist, but I haven't seen or heard of any efforts being taken to look more into it since.
I know it has only been a week, but there have been a couple of intense arguments since, one of which resulted in him self-harming (despite past conversations where I have asked him not to do so), and another of which resulted in him throwing his only pair of glasses against the wall and breaking them. The only recognition by him of how unacceptable these behaviors are has been a result of my calling it to his attention (other than that, he has done nothing but talk nonchalantly and joke about not being able to see stuff). I have been feeling like we are just falling into bad emotional habits together, and am concerned at how much we are triggering each other. Sometimes struggle with resentment towards some of the behaviors directed at me which are fueled by what I believe are 'emotional flashbacks' (things like nitpicking, victim-playing, mistrust)-- then, I find myself feeling guilty because this must mean that I don't accept him for all of his being, and that isn't at all fair to him. Am I doing him a disservice by continuing to be with him? Or should I find a way to encourage him further to seek professional help and just try harder not to let stuff get to me? I want to be a supportive partner as he grows, and I grow with him, but I don't know if we are hurting or helping each other, overall, in the end. I know you don't have all the answers, but I figured it was worth a shot to ask advice.
Thank you so much for reading this.
Much love.
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More background info: He has a more anxious-preoccupied attachment style, and I have a more dismissive-avoidant one (maybe my own manifestation of C-PTSD symptoms?), which we realized earlier on in our relationship and have been working on. Not sure how relevant that is, but it seemed worth mentioning.
Thank you all so much for everything you do to support each other on this forum. It is truly beautiful to see so many people focusing on self growth and creating an emotionally aware community together. I found out about C-PTSD less than a week ago, via an article a good friend posted about it. Reading that article was full of 'aha!' moments, as I realized how much the symptoms of C-PTSD influence my relationship. After the first article, I started reading more and looking up YouTube videos about it, trying to get as much information as I could. My looking into finding a therapist [for myself] that knows about C-PTSD is what led me here.
I will preface all this by saying that I try my best to be a good person, but am far from perfect. I deal with my own challenges of emotional disregulation when triggered (usually by family, but occasionally the highly stressful work situation, and now sometimes by arguments with my boyfriend), and actively try to work on them. However, I have been feeling some regression in this department as of late, as you will understand more as you read. Also, I absolutely adore my boyfriend and regularly put forth effort to do and say things that make him feel secure in our relationship and secure in his own being. He does the same for me, has influenced me to learn a lot about myself in the short 3 months we have been together, and has put a lot of effort towards self-growth in his life.
After I did a number of hours of research on C-PTSD, I told my boyfriend about it. It is quite possible that I experience some milder symptoms of C-PTSD from experiences in my childhood (which actually would explain the recurring nightmares of me trying to escape the house I grew up in), and the way I told him about it was in view of this. Basically, I said that I think we both experience some of these symptoms, and we watched a researched-based YouTube video about it together. He seemed to resonate with the material and was apparently very open to the idea of learning more about it and finding a therapist, but I haven't seen or heard of any efforts being taken to look more into it since.
I know it has only been a week, but there have been a couple of intense arguments since, one of which resulted in him self-harming (despite past conversations where I have asked him not to do so), and another of which resulted in him throwing his only pair of glasses against the wall and breaking them. The only recognition by him of how unacceptable these behaviors are has been a result of my calling it to his attention (other than that, he has done nothing but talk nonchalantly and joke about not being able to see stuff). I have been feeling like we are just falling into bad emotional habits together, and am concerned at how much we are triggering each other. Sometimes struggle with resentment towards some of the behaviors directed at me which are fueled by what I believe are 'emotional flashbacks' (things like nitpicking, victim-playing, mistrust)-- then, I find myself feeling guilty because this must mean that I don't accept him for all of his being, and that isn't at all fair to him. Am I doing him a disservice by continuing to be with him? Or should I find a way to encourage him further to seek professional help and just try harder not to let stuff get to me? I want to be a supportive partner as he grows, and I grow with him, but I don't know if we are hurting or helping each other, overall, in the end. I know you don't have all the answers, but I figured it was worth a shot to ask advice.
Thank you so much for reading this.
Much love.
-----------------------------------------------
More background info: He has a more anxious-preoccupied attachment style, and I have a more dismissive-avoidant one (maybe my own manifestation of C-PTSD symptoms?), which we realized earlier on in our relationship and have been working on. Not sure how relevant that is, but it seemed worth mentioning.