Well said Jodee and Sairadance. I know you said you are not referring to children with PTSD Nicolette, however I hope you don't mind my commenting briefly as well.

As Sairadance so aptly put it, when one enters into a relationship with someone with any chronic illness, expectations do need to be adjusted accordingly. Just as if your partner was unable to walk, you would not expect them to go jogging with you, so with a partner with PTSD, you cannot always expect them to engage in activities which stress them or make them ill. Although it is not a partner situation, I will use my daughter with PTSD as an example here. When I was quite ill emotionally after my son's death, Evie tried to be supportive of me, and was good at it - to a point. That point being, because of her PTSD, she could only be supportive for short periods at a time, and could not be my sole source of support. After a certain point it became too much for her she needed to rest. I needed to rely on others as well, not place all the burden upon her.

As close as the spousal relationship is, in the case of PTSD, developing a large and solid support network is crucial. Family, friends, one's church, therapists, support groups, doctors and so on can all be part of that support network. You simply cannot always rely upon the PTSD sufferer; that is unfortunately part of PTSD, that they will need breaks, especially from the stress and problems of others. They cannot always be emotionally available. This is exactly why I often tell partners to think very seriously and clearly if this is what they want in a relationship, as there are some matters you must accept, and some adjustements that must be made, that would not be present in a "normal" relationship.