Relationships and PTSD?

I had one of those very crazy childhoods... I'm not harping on my past for sympathy, but I've come to realize that it really did affect some things about how I do relationships. I am diagnosed with PTSD, and have great support from therapy, family, etc.

However, dating is kind of the last frontier for me. I get very frightened around guys. I now have a fantastic boyfriend who is warm, trustworthy, etc. And guess what? Being with him still scares the CRAP out of me.

Intimacy is all about letting the other person know who you really are, warts and all, right? Well, I don't know how to let him know I have all this dark stuff inside of me. I have told him a little bit, but I never tell him how scared/disconnected I can be. I pretend to be cheerful because that's what has always worked for me. Most of the time, people don't want to hear you're scared when you're not supposed to be.

Has anyone ever dealt with something like this? How did you cope? Please no mean answers!

I have PTSD and you sound exactly like me except I hid it well and have been married for almost 33 years. I hid my feelings all these years until I had an emotional breakdown several years ago. Then my husband found out some things about my childhood that I couldn't talk about. He just couldn't understand but over the years he is becoming more understanding. People never fully understand unless they experience it. You are lucky you have help from your family, I didn't. Take it slow, don't do anything you can't handle right now. It takes years of therapy and still you have bad days. Don't be pushed into anything you are not ready for. I guarantee you will have a breakdown if you have to talk about things you are not ready to talk about yet. Go slow. If he loves you, he will understand. Good Luck

Are you in therapy now? That would be a place to deal with your fears...if not, maybe it's time to just touch base with your therapist for a little help with this "last frontier". PTSD is hard to overcome and it sounds as though you've done very well! You can and should be proud of yourself! I think it may be time to stop "pretending"...relationships built on pretense will always fail. God bless. KJL

I have PTSD. I am yet to have a successful relationship....men scare the crap out of me.

yes, i deal with this in my business and you learn to get through it just by talking to someone you trust alot lot your mom or a sister or a close friend i sell makeup and i get people who don't understand my business so i gotta be the top dog and tell them what it is all about to get a facial out of it and to get a sell if they don't have someone already that is then i jump to recrit them into doing my type of work