Dear Robin D~
Welcome here, you will find that there are others who have the same issues and it is not easy, particularly if you do not know what to expect.
I see it from the other perspective, I was invalided out of my occupation wiht the same, PTSD, Depression, Anxiety. For a long time this ruled my life and my wife had a very hard time of it, trying to look after me, the house and offspring as well as work.
I was often totally locked within my thoughts, became angry or resentful when disturbed, tried to keep everything including finances under control, and was overly suspicious - and often simply wanted to be alone wiht no input. No intimacy or even consideration a lot of the time.
Things improved a lot in time, I was able to return mostly to the state I had been in before and restored a loving partnership with my wife and family.
Your husband has times of withdrawal, I guess there may be two things here, but please bear in mind I'm not a doctor. The first being it is a symptom of the PTSD & anxiety, I do it too at times, though less and less often. The other is that living on his own for so long will have meant there has been nothing to check this behavior.
At first my wife thought it might have been in part her doing, but later came to realise it was not. She did have her mum to help, both with emotional support and also giving a hand around the house. Do you have anyone like that you can talk with?
I am still under therapy with a psychiatrist and on medication, and that is after many years. I find it a help. Does your husband have medical support too?
PTSD itself, or the other two conditions are not taboo subjects. Can you talk matters over with your husband and explain your worries? Even if he gets in the habit of explaining he needs some quiet time and it is not you that might be enough.
It might sound soppy or overly romantic but I beleive a large part of my recovery was because of my wife, both her attitude and actions, and my feelings for her.
May I suggest if your husband has given up on medical support he tries again, new meds do help. I'd also suggest you have some sort of support, PTSD and the rest are not easy for a partner to live with at times.
Please feel free to ask whatever you would like
Croix
Look, I'm not a doctor, I'm just trying to put myself in his position. One of my main motivating factors was concern for my partner, who I'd loved before, and would again. This meant I'd really try, even if only in little things.
