I think I triggered my GF's PTSD
Hey, I am kinda lost right now. I am pretty sure I triggered my GF's PTSD and I am not sure what to do. It happened a few weeks ago while driving I made a comment about how she was driving. She was being too aggressive towards other drivers and I was uncomfortable so I calmly said that she has a little girl in the back seat watching her and learning from her (her daughter is 12 and will be driving in a few years and absolutely adores her mom and mimics everything she does). I thought it was a good, low key way to let her know that I thought she was being too aggressive and that she should relax a bit. I think this is what triggered it. She spent the rest of the drive not talking, barely going the speed limit and sitting on her one hand that wasn't on the steering wheel. She wouldn't look at me the rest of the day and when we got back to her house she told me that I should go while she drops her daughter off at a friends house. I know her mom was physically abusive to her when she was growing up and would make comments to her about how she isn't doing a good job raising her daughter.
This happened 3 weeks ago. She hasn't said much about the incident just that I was absolutely right with what I said and that this isn't my fault. After doing some reading, I have backed off and given her some time and space. She will reach out to me every couple of days to say she is sorry and she wants to try to hang out. We have hung out a few times and though we are both happy to see each other it is definitely a different feel and when I leave it feels like she can't get me out of the house fast enough. We've hung out 3 times since the incident. The first time I thought we were starting to get back to normal (it was a Tuesday, we had dinner at her place and the 3 of us played games at the table and laughed and joke a lot). The next time was that Friday and it felt a lot more cold, I don't think I realized her trying to keep distance between us. she cancelled plans with me on Sunday and then we didn't speak again until she reached out on Wednesday apologizing again and said she wants to work on closing the gap. We hung out again this Friday and though she seemed happy to see me I made sure to not push things and get too close to her. the 3 of us watch a movie and I snuggled with her daughter on the couch while she sat by herself in a chair. Saturday we texted a bit but she seemed distant again and now today I haven't gotten a response from her.
I don't know what to do, I miss her and her daughter like crazy. I don't know a lot about what is going on here. I am pretty sure she is trying to cope with this on her own or with close family and friends but she doesn't currently have health insurance so I don't think she is getting any professional help.
Edit:
Thank you everyone. It was very helpful to get some perspective and understand more of what shes feeling and where it comes from. I know about her history and what shes gone through, I knew she had PTSD but this is my first major experience with it. Like I said, I have all the patience in the world for her and if you would have told me beforehand that she just needed space I would have said "cool, I can do that" but it gets really hard, the little things. I call her every day on my drive home from work and when I can't do that I really notice or if I've had a bad day and want to talk to her I can't just call her up. Like I said earlier, the insight you all have provided has helped calm me down and regain my composure as well as approach the situation more informed and better able to react. I miss her and her daughter a ton.
Thank you
Posted Dec 16, 2018, 11:15 PM UTC · edited