People who experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often struggle to communicate with their romantic partners and to resolve relationship conflicts. A new study suggests one key reason: many people with more severe PTSD symptoms are afraid of their own emotions, and that fear can disrupt healthy communication.
In the research, scientists analyzed data from 64 heterosexual couples in which both partners had lived through at least one traumatic event. Each participant reported their PTSD symptoms, as well as whether they believed strong emotions could have negative consequences, and how they and their partner typically communicate when problems arise.
The findings, published in Behaviour Research and Therapy, showed a clear pattern. Higher PTSD symptom levels were linked to greater fear of emotions. That fear, in turn, was associated with less constructive communication and more unproductive interaction styles between partners.
According to Steffany Fredman, an associate professor of human development and family studies at Penn State and one of the study’s authors, PTSD often shapes how people view themselves and others. Mistrust, anger, avoidance, withdrawal, and emotional numbness can place heavy strain on romantic relationships. At the same time, being able to experience feelings, trust others, and stay connected are widely seen as important elements in recovering from PTSD.
Fredman explained that PTSD can create a self-reinforcing cycle. Symptoms may trigger behaviors such as aggression, avoidance, or emotional shutdown, which can damage the relationship. Then, ongoing relationship conflict can help maintain or intensify PTSD symptoms. Without intervention, the pattern can continue.
One reason romantic relationships can feel especially difficult for people with PTSD is that close relationships naturally involve strong emotions. For some, intense feelings may be experienced as dangerous or as reminders of the trauma, because strong emotions were present during or after the traumatic event. As a result, emotionally charged moments with a partner can feel threatening, prompting attempts to reduce that threat by withdrawing, becoming defensive, or acting aggressively.
The study included participants with a wide range of PTSD symptom severity levels, allowing researchers to examine how communication shifts as symptoms become more pronounced. Participants were interviewed about their PTSD symptoms and asked about fear of emotions. They were also asked about common relationship communication patterns, including:
Constructive communication, which can include listening, collaborative problem-solving, proposing compromises, and expressing feelings.
Demand/withdraw patterns, in which one partner pressures, complains, or demands a response while the other avoids the discussion or disengages. Researchers note that this dynamic often escalates: the more one partner withdraws, the more the other pushes.
When these unproductive patterns dominate, relationship problems often remain unresolved. The researchers suggested that persistent, unresolved conflict may help maintain PTSD symptoms by reinforcing a sense of interpersonal threat and negative beliefs about oneself or one’s partner.
Overall, participants with higher PTSD symptoms were more likely to report fear of their emotions. Those who feared emotions more strongly also reported less constructive communication and more demand/withdraw interaction in both directions—either they demanded while their partner withdrew, or their partner demanded while they withdrew.
The researchers emphasized that fear of emotions appears to have interpersonal consequences: it does not only affect how a person feels internally, but also how they interact with their partner. When fear of emotions was considered alongside PTSD symptoms, the links to communication difficulties became much clearer, suggesting that emotional fear may be a key mechanism behind relationship struggles in couples affected by PTSD.
The new findings build on earlier work by Fredman and colleagues, which found that individuals with elevated PTSD symptoms had difficulty regulating emotional arousal during conversations with their partners. In those discussions, emotional arousal—either their own or communicated through a partner’s voice—could function like a trauma cue. The current study extends that idea by indicating that PTSD symptoms may predispose people to catastrophic beliefs about feeling strong emotions, which may then undermine constructive communication.
Fredman also pointed to prior research indicating that couple-based therapy can reduce PTSD symptoms and improve relationship communication, in some cases even in a brief, intensive format. The latest study adds detail to how PTSD symptoms, fear of emotions, and communication difficulties may be connected, and why addressing them together could be important.
Additional contributors to the research included Jeesun Lee, Yunying Le, Emily Taverna, and Amy Marshall. The work was supported by multiple funding sources tied to translational science and family and prevention research initiatives.
