Hi all,

Hopefully this is in the right place, otherwise I apologize in advance.

My boyfriend and I have been together for over a year and living together for the past 4 (almost 5) months. We are both crazy in love with each other and know that this is the real deal. We have plans to get engaged later this year (though I don't know exactly when, he insists on leaving that part a surprise.)
He is a purple heart OIF vet who was medically retired when the vehicle that he was in struck an IED.
He suffers from severe combat PTSD, anger issues, depression and anxiety. For example: When he is stressed or says his issues are acting up, he "shuts down" and shuts himself off for a few hours to a day. He'll lie down by himself, listen to audio books, watch documentaries, etc. He says its because he's trying to distract himself from the issues going on inside his head and that he's not doing it to be mean but he doesn't want to risk lashing out at me. This is completely new to me. I have never dealt with someone that has gone through what he has and I will admit, for a while I behaved selfishly and took it personally.

He is an amazing partner and has a big heart. Our relationship is fantastic overall. Sure we've had our fair share of fights but that mainly is due to a difference in communication styles. (I overreact easily and get very high strung/dramatic/panicky when upset, he hates that because of having a hyper response to stress and feeds off of my behavior.) And what couple hasn't had fights anyway? But I honestly just want to be the best support system that I can for him. His prior relationships have all been terrible. He's been cheated on, treated like ****/taken for granted, and I want to ensure that he knows I'm not going anywhere and that I'm here for him. And I admit that I still know next to nothing about PTSD. I have been doing some reading on my own but I'd love if anyone could give me some advice and/or input.

Thanks!