My (18F) boyfriend (19M) can’t experience/express emotions well due to an overdose, and it’s affecting our relationship. What can I do?

Hello! This is my first time posting on Reddit, and this is a throwaway account I made about a year ago.

Trigger warning: drug use. If you’re sensitive to this topic, please skip!

A few years ago, my boyfriend, TJ (19M), had an accidental overdose. For two years afterward, he experienced emotional numbness, which still affects him today. He is really bad at saying how he feels or understanding how I feel during arguments or big life changes.

I never really bring this up to him because I have no clue how he feels, and I don’t want to make him feel bad over something he can’t control. However, I feel as if it is creating distance between us. It’s hard for him to understand how I feel when I’m upset, and because he can’t express himself well, it leads to a lot of guesswork.

Whenever I ask him how he’s doing or what he’s up to, more often than not, he says he needs to cry but just can’t. He says it makes him feel sick. I try to help him, but I don’t have much good advice because I’m the opposite—I’m very hyper-emotional.

I told him he should consider therapy, but he is really against it. I’ve brought up how therapy could really help, but he isn’t receptive. I really wanna help him be able to cry it hurts me that I’m not sure how to help him.

Any advice on how I can help him?