PTSD - What is it

I have been married for almost 4 long years. My husband has times of isolation of not wanting to be bother. A time when he can go without talking, stalking away and just being very hard to live with. It is very hard on myself and my son. At the time we were married my husband was a
recovering alcoholic and drug user and he though that the drugs and alcohol was the cause of his fits of anger but as time has gone by the fit comes and goes. The fits are not to the point that he is violent but at the same time they are not easy to live with. At least twice a years since we have been married one or both of us has talked about divorcing but then we work things out and everything is good for the next 2 or 3 months.

Earlier this summer my husband decided to seek help and he went to the VA for assistance. My husband is a Vietnam Vet and after talking to a few people there he has been diagnosed with PTSD ( Post Trauma Symtom Disorder) . Now I had never heard of this disorder before August but since than I have been doing research on it. Knowing the problem doesn't make it easier to deal with but at least we have a cause beside he is just being nasty which is what I though most times.

What I have found about the disorder is that it is a mental disorder that people suffer when they have been though something traumatic like war. Some of the symptoms are:

• Making an effort to avoid thoughts, feelings, or conversations about the traumatic event;

• A loss of interest in important, once positive, activities;

• Feeling distant from others;

• Experiencing difficulties having positive feelings, such as happiness or love;

• Feeling more irritable or having outbursts of anger.

Like most mental disorders there is no cure for it and the best that can happen is medication and therapy. The doctors has been trying to tweak the dosage of the medication but the correct dosages has not been found yet. He still withdrew and irritable.

The good thing is that we know that there is help and it will take time to get this right. I just hope that I can make it that far.

I got the information on the symptoms from: http://ptsd.about.com/od/symptomsanddiagnosis/a/PTSDsymptoms.htm if you would like to read more on this disorder.