[louisa85]

Originally Posted by Traci08 I apologize to you, Brandily. And I agree completely with what you stated. Having our husbands, wives, girlfriends, boyfriends, fiances, etc. is very hard to deal with. It is extremely hurtful, stressful and totally frustrating. Our emotions are all over the place, because we cannot open up to them, because they don't want to listen. I don't care if they've only been back a week or 4 weeks. Its still scary to have someone come home a changed person. Someone who was your best friend before deployment is now making you their enemy. It hurts being pushed away. It hurts knowing you cannot help. That is why I think we should encourage each other to educate themselves the best they can. Forums such as these do HELP! And I am grateful that I have found so many people on here who are going through what I am going through. This forum is NOT just about PTSD, its about post deployment. And I'd rather see others coming in here to find support to help them support their loved ones, then constantly walking into the wall that our significant others put up. I meant no disrespect, but it does get tiresome to see the same person, come into these forums stating to let a professional diagnose him, rather than ourselves. Which it is true, we should do that, but, in the meantime, while we're waiting for them to realize they need help, there isn't any more we can do. The first step in healing your significant other, is healing yourself. And that is done by educating yourself on it and surrounding yourself with others who are going through the same things. Its such a relief to know that you're not alone. That he's not alone. That this change isn't any one person's fault. You cannot help him if you cannot help yourself first. And that means finding comfort anywhere you can.