setting boundaries and keeping enforcing them in marriage relationship PTSD

The Boundaries I Needed to Create Alongside My Husband’s PTSD

For every one of the six long years since PTSD became a part of our lives, I truly believed I was helping my husband. I thought that, with every suggestion I made to him and every frustration I withheld from him, I was being a supportive wife and a compassionate partner.

But when I finally acknowledged that his recovery had stagnated and that I was honestly petrified of him falling any further than he already had, I came to recognise how much enabling looks very much like love.

Enabling my husband was neither a sustainable option, nor was it a way forward. I had to make a change. And this time it would be about me, and for me.

It was not going to be a quick process; we had both developed damaging patterns over the years and I had to try and untangle the mess I was now facing without creating any new knots.

 

The first important step I took in moving towards a position of support was to identify all of my actions that had been enabling him. Once I could clearly see how my behaviour was affecting his choices, I then had to challenge my normal reactions and instead find sustainable ways to stop being an enabler.

I coudn’t control a single part his recovery, but I could control my own actions and behaviour. And I needed to focus my efforts on taking care of me rather than him by concentrating on the values that are important in my life, and finally being honest about the behaviour I could no longer tolerate.

When I became certain that PTSD should never be an excuse for bad behaviour, I had to gradually and gently push the responsibility and accountability back into my husband’s court. The best way to do this, I decided, was to create clear boundaries for his destructive and hurtful behaviour, and develop ways to hold him accountable each time they’re crossed.

 

BOUNDARY  (noun)
1. something that indicates or fixes a limit or extent
2. the greatest possible degree of something
3. a line determining the limits of an area

 

But what boundaries did I really need? And what would these boundaries look like in real life. How would I go about setting these boundaries?

As it turned out, the answers were all around me.

Our home is the one place where I need to always feel safe and secure. Home is where I should feel happy and relaxed. But looking back over our journey with PTSD, home has often been a scary place, a hurtful place, a place of high anxiety, dark moods and far too many tears.

I already felt I had lost myself, and now I was losing my safety and security too.

 

A boundary needs to be realistic
As a member of our family, my husband needs to contribute in positive ways however he can. Household chores and garden maintenance. Taking on the responsibilities of the children on his good days. And working in new jobs, when he is able.
I can hope for only good days, but I know his PTSD too well by now. I have to be prepared for the inevitable bad days, and acknowledge that on those days everything will be on my shoulders. It’s a part of supporting his PTSD I have to accept. But supporting him also means handing back all that responsibility as soon as his mood lifts.

A boundary needs to be clearly defined
I will not condone my husband shouting at or intimidating our children, or treating them as his scapegoat when he is triggered by or struggling with his PTSD.
There cannot be a possibility of misunderstanding with my boundaries unless I want the uncertainty and confusion to lead me back into the trap of enabling my husband.

A boundary needs to reflect my need for safety and security
I will not tolerate my husband drinking alcohol in our home or returning home after drinking. Not even a social drink. And not even just one drink.
PTSD has ruined my husband’s relationship with alcohol and I can no longer feel safe and secure in our home when he drinks. Because even one drink ends up leading to an uncontrolled and destructive binge – if not that day, then in a day, a week, a month. It’s a bitter pill for each of us to swallow, but even a marriage overshadowed by PTSD still needs to offer safety and security.

A boundary needs to be about me
I feel worthless and resentful when my husband chooses to lie or deceive, and I have every right to expect honesty and respect in my relationship.
Each of my boundaries needs to be focused on my needs and seen through my eyes, as opposed to being an attempt at controlling or changing my husband’s hurtful behaviour. In this case, “I need to feel respected in my marriage” instead of “My husband needs to stop lying and deceiving.”

 

Boundaries are not rules, and neither are they ultimatums. My husband has always had the right to make his own choices, and I have the obligation to let him do so.

I could hope that he would do whatever it takes to change his behaviour and learn to heed my boundaries, out of respect for our family and for our marriage. But hope is simply not enough. I also needed to learn to love and respect myself enough to enforce the boundaries I create.

So how should I decide what limits are needed that will actually support me as well as help my husband? And, more importantly, how would I hold my husband accountable to these boundaries? How on earth could I enforce them?

 

A boundary needs to be firmly and consistently applied
I will no longer come to my husband’s rescue every time something becomes a bit difficult, or something happens that he cannot be bothered trying to sort out himself.
When the children fight, I no longer step in and hush them up. When phone calls and visitors become difficult, I no longer take over. When he runs low on his medication, I am not there to organise the refills. When he says our plans would be easier to cancel, I make sure we stand by them. He can no longer use his PTSD as an excuse in life. He needs me to step back, allowing the natural consequences which will reveal that maybe he could find better ways to manage.

A boundary needs to have a practical and feasible action if crossed
Every time my husband chooses to drink in our home or return home drunk, instead of standing by in anger and fear, I will take the children and stay with my nearby family.
A boundary is not the same as a rule. A boundary is clearly defining the limit of any destructive behaviour that I will no longer tolerate. Just as my husband can choose to cross my limit at any time, I can choose to be prepared with a feasible reaction that preserves my safety and security. Simply hoping that a boundary will never be crossed is never an option. After years of relying on hope alone, I now know this.

A boundary needs to be a decision that is made each and every day
Each day, I will choose to look after my own needs. And each day I will make the commitment of standing by my boundaries for my own self worth and preservation.
For too long I bore the responsibility of his schedule. And my husband, taking it for granted, used to blame me if he got up too late and missed an appointment. So just as I now expect him to take back the full responsibility of managing his own recovery and his own life, each and every day, I too will take the responsibility for standing by my own boundaries, each and every day.

A boundary needs to have a consequence that is sustainable
When he yells or intimidates or threatens or belittles, even when I know he is triggered by his PTSD or frustrated by his increasing anxiety, I will tell him it’s not acceptable and then remove myself.
There is not one part of me that wants to tolerate this treatment from my husband, PTSD or not. And there is not one part of me that should. PTSD is not an excuse to treat anyone this way. I will leave the room, I will leave the house, I will leave the shop, I will put down the phone, and I will get out of the car. The actual distance I put between us is irrelevant because it’s an action that speaks more than my words ever will. And it’s an action that I can repeat indefinitely.

 

This post follows on directly from my earlier post – “How I Stopped Enabling My Husband with PTSD, and Started Supporting Him”

 

 

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21 Comments
  • Eve

    30 March, 2018 at 10:02 pm

    Hi Lea,

    Thanks for your blog. It’s given me so much hope. My boyfriend has recently been diagnosed with PTSD. He is currently in treatment and I have broken up with him but we still very much inlove and in pain. His ptsd shows itself in him having anxiety about me moving on and so to protect himself he reaches out to other women. This is extremely painful for me because I have been faithful and don’t want to imagine having to take him back after him sleeping with someone else, then realising the extent of the damage and having to forgive him for the excuse of ptsd. Please help me set boundaries and how to communicate them in a supportive manner.

    Regards,
    Eve

    • This Life This Moment

      12 April, 2018 at 10:14 am

      Thanks, Eve, for reaching out and commenting. Setting boundaries in a relationship can be either very simple or very tricky, depending on your starting point. But setting boundaries when you’re not currently together can also be complicated. You need to be able to clearly establish what behaviour of his you’re okay with and what is definitely out. PTSD can be used to explain his symptoms and moods, but it shouldn’t be used as an excuse for bad behaviour. When communicating with him, explain your boundaries using “I” statements to to avoid laying any blame or criticism on him, which will only spark defensiveness. I hope this helps. Take care.

  • Avi

    21 January, 2018 at 1:26 am

    Hi Lea,

    Thank you for your very insightful posts. I am curious to know how you told your husband about how you were going to change and establish boundaries and what his reaction was.

    • This Life This Moment

      1 April, 2018 at 10:20 pm

      Thanks for your comment, Avi. When I pick the right time, my husband and I can often have very open and constructive conversations. So in this instance, I prepared myself with my long term feelings on the issue and explained why I needed to make some changes for my own wellbeing. By phrasing everything in “I” statements, it’s less confrontational and less likely to evoke a defensive response. I hope this helps!

  • Lourena

    8 November, 2017 at 9:22 am

    Hi Lea.
    Your blog is an answered prayer. The last couple of months have been very difficult for our marriage… mainly for me. I have been grasping for straws, trying to figure out how to fix whatever it is we’re not doing right.
    Just as I was looking for ways out of the relationship, I came across your blog and article. Every word on your posts and article echo exactly how I feel and have been feeling. Your words were the last straws I pulled that are probably keeping me sane amd hopeful right now.
    I know I am depressed. I have been trying to get help myself. Because the cycle of abuse has been slowly eating me up a little bit at a time. I know now that I am partially at fault for enabling him in the guise of support. So, thank you so much.
    I shared your article with my therapist, and she thought your article was great.
    Thank you. And may God continue to bless you with the grace of putting into words so eloquently how we- spouses of those with PTSD- truly feel.
    Love and light.

    • ptsdcollective

      12 December, 2017 at 2:25 pm

      Thank you for your comment, Lourena. I’m glad my words and my blog reached you at a time you really needed them. I hope your journey becomes brighter in time. Take care.

  • Emily

    1 August, 2017 at 8:31 am

    I can relate to your journey and appreciate you sharing. My boyfriend has PTSD and our relationship has taken an abusive turn. Recently, for the sake of self preservation and safety of our children, I followed through with the boundary I set and left home until he follows through with getting the help he needs and sticking to the recovery plan. He feels that I have thrown him to the wayside, uprooted our lives, and is now threatening suicide. I hate to see him feel this way and have explained that I told him his behavior and treatment of me is not acceptable and if it continues I will leave…it continued. He tells me he plans to go to treatment when x,y,z are handled. I am at a loss but feel like my decision is valid and out of love. Thanks for your blog, PTSD creates a monster out of good people. I dont think anyone truly understands the mental anguish placed on everyone involved.

    • ptsdcollective

      10 August, 2017 at 9:33 pm

      Thank you, Emily, for sharing your experiences, and good on you for standing true to your values and boundaries. It’s a very difficult thing to do, especially when such threats are made back. I agree, PTSD can definitely create monsters out of good people, and no one ever asks for this. Hopefully, in time, the stigma will be broken down and those who needs treatment can, and will, access it more readily. Stay strong, and take care.

  • Livingitalso

    22 June, 2017 at 9:11 am

    I read your article and know I need to do this too. However, it is so strange in that my husband turns things around and directs it back to me if I bring it up. It then becomes such a struggle back and forth with us. It is almost like we are in competition for control. I am not sure if it is me and I need to let go or his PTSD. It is who said and did what and who is right or wrong always among us.

    • Lea Farrow

      22 June, 2017 at 9:35 pm

      These conversations can be very tricky, and much of it can come down to using the right “language”. I was once taught the importance of using only “I” statements when having discussions like this – I feel lonely, I feel unsafe, I choose to walk away from your anger, I need to start putting myself first. No one can argue what you do and don’t feel or think. And, in comparison, if you try out “You” statements – You are too angry, You need to give me more time, You hurt me – they are very blame-heavy and are almost certain to put the other person on the defensive. Also, try not to use any exaggerated words, such as “always” and “never”, because it’s probably not entirely true and will therefore make your statements lose credibility. I hope some of this helps!

    • Livingitalso

      23 June, 2017 at 10:51 am

      Thanks for the suggestions. I need to work on the “I” instead of “you”.

  • Anonymous

    18 June, 2017 at 11:22 pm

    I’m going to have to take some time to think about this boundary issue and come up with a list for myself. It’s hard to tease apart what are issues of me not having clear boundaries vs. being supportive vs. me reacting negatively to him, which in turn creates a negative reaction in him…
    Thanks for this!

    • Lea Farrow

      20 June, 2017 at 9:06 pm

      You’re right, it can be very hard to work out what list of boundaries are important for you personally. And it’s not always black and white, sometimes it can all seem like one big blended mess! Good luck.

  • SOI

    13 June, 2017 at 8:26 am

    Thanks yet again for your insightful comments. It really helps to know that others are travelling a similar path and experiencing similar hurdles. Boundaries are certainly one thing we have struggled with and its so helpful to hear how others set them.

    • Lea Farrow

      14 June, 2017 at 4:32 pm

      Setting and applying boundaries have been a huge hurdle for me. In fact, it has been writing these recent blog posts that has finally made me stop and think all of it through properly. So I need to thank you, and all my other readers, for whom I write this blog for! Take care.

  • Jenjoy

    13 June, 2017 at 6:42 am

    Thank you so much for sharing your heart and your experience. Does this really help? And was it scary? I feel like I was reading my life as I read this post. Thank you.

    • Lea Farrow

      14 June, 2017 at 4:30 pm

      Yes, it has been a big adjustment for us, and definitely scary at times. I’m still settling into my boundaries, and learning how to apply them. It takes time to make big changes like these, for both of us. But I think yes, it really does seem to be helping us.

  • Anonymous

    13 June, 2017 at 5:43 am

    I than God each day for finding your page and read about it. My husband and I recently found out about his ptsd and it has been hard and I have not that many people to talk and understand about this situation. Your posts have helped me on how to deal with it. Thank you again. ❤️

    • Lea Farrow

      14 June, 2017 at 4:28 pm

      It seems to be the case with most people who find themselves living with PTSD – they don’t know what to expect, they don’t know what the future will hold, and they don’t know anyone else who truly understands what they’re going through. I’m glad that my writing has been able to provide with some comfort and understanding. Take care.

  • miizd92

    12 June, 2017 at 9:47 pm

    Thank you. I, too, thought I was showing love and support for my husband, but instead, it drove him to attempt suicide. He still blames me as “The straw that broke the camel’s back.” I wish I had read these words and ideas before and had put them into practice. Perhaps it could have helped save our marriage. Keep writing, and I pray your words will benefit others before or is too late.

    • Lea Farrow

      12 June, 2017 at 9:55 pm

      I’m so sorry that your journey took that tragic turn. No one has the right to lay blame on another for their feelings or their actions. Supporting a loved one with PTSD is such a long and lonely journey, and there is no one there to show us the right way, no one there telling us what we really need to know. Take care.