From a Carers' point of view understanding PTSD takes time and experience. Anthony gave me literature to read early on and even though he emphasised it could be bad, until you go down that road with a sufferer you really don't understand what you are getting into. It also may occur that a suffer may initially be well and then months down the track is triggered and gets very ill. I am sure when Sisu signed up for a relationship with her boyfriend he did not say to her sometimes I may shut you out which could be months on end....if Anthony had said that to me upfront I would have never got involved as, while I don't wish for him or anyone to be ill, that's not the type of relationship I want as, in my world, shutting out is pretty close to checking out of the relationship.

No-one is questioning how terrible PTSD is or whether someone is trying to heal themselves. This discussion was, and still should be about a Carer's point of view on what they can accommodate and what they can't. Whether the sufferers' actions are justifiable in accordance with their illness is a whole separate topic. I am sure PTSD sufferers would not stay in a relationship with a person who caused them daily, continuous, high levels of stress which only made the sufferer worse. It can be argued that the shoe can be put on the other foot and an opposite view point can apply to the sufferer.

The point here was how a Carer can deal with shut outs and for how long a carer can sustain that type of relationship. It is NOT about the symptoms, cause or justification of the illness.

No-one here wants anyone to suffer. No-one disputes PTSD can be hell on earth.

I don't understand why the point is being missed.