I'm new here, but not to a relationship with a PTSD sufferer. I'm also middle aged, so I have had relationships with people who did not have PTSD, and have a basis for comparison.

Everyone has their ups and downs, their challenges and successes, their trials, their tribulations. At any given time, a partner, PTSD or not, may or may not rise to the challenge presented by your own life event. My PTSD partner has been supportive when needed, and he's also fallen apart when needed. And that is not so unlike other partners of the past who were not burdened by PTSD. Humans, regardless of their particular frailties, are merely human.

And so, one cannot build one's life around one other person, a partner, and expect that partner to provide everything one needs out of life. It isn't a realistic burden to place on another person, whether or not they have PTSD. That is not healthy, for either individual. One needs a network of friends and family. I think that is true for carers and PTSD sufferers as well (although some of them tend to isolate themselves too much to have an effective support network).

Cowgirl