My husband struggles with C-PTSD because he grew up with an emotionally abusive mother (borderline personality disorder). We have been married for 8 years and we have 1 child. We have spent the majority of our marriage trying to get him the help that he needs to cope with the regular stresses of life. He has been through extensive therapy, and has progressed so much. However, he struggles with a severe pornography addiction (definitely a side-effect of the C-PTSD). He is consistently trying to get control of his addiction. Things are much better then they were years ago, but they are still really bad. It is so hurtful to our marriage. I am committed to working things out (especially because we have a child), but I don't see things improving at a rate that is healthy for our marriage. I feel like 5+ years of therapy should be enough time for him to learn to cope without the addiction.
So here is my question: Is it possible to first recover from addition while still learning the right tools for the C-PTSD? Or is it practically impossible for this addiction to go away until he has full control of the C-PTSD? It kind of feel like the question "Which comes first: the chicken or the egg?"
So here is my question: Is it possible to first recover from addition while still learning the right tools for the C-PTSD? Or is it practically impossible for this addiction to go away until he has full control of the C-PTSD? It kind of feel like the question "Which comes first: the chicken or the egg?"