(Using a throwaway btw)
TL;DR My boyfriend hates any mention of death but our pet will die one day, how can I make it easier on him?
My boyfriend lost almost his entire family before I met him, and it seems to have really warped his feelings around death and dying. Just the suggestion of it sends him into a depression that can last the whole day - when we lived across the road from a graveyard, he’d often refuse to have the curtains open in case he saw it.
I myself have only ever had pets die, and while that was devastating at the time it doesn’t compare to the magnitude of what my boyfriend must have been through. So mostly I’ve left the topic alone, unless he brings it up. Once or twice I’ve suggested exposure therapy, which helps with phobia, but he’s adamant that he doesn’t want to try it.
Now, a few years ago we adopted a gorgeous doggo who we both adore. However, she’s elderly and is beginning to show signs of severe illness. Right now it’s manageable and the vet has assured us she has a good few years left, but we’re both aware that her time with us is coming to an end.
Every time she coughs or breathes too heavily may boyfriend gets all teary-eyed and can’t snap out of it. I’m genuinely concerned that he’ll completely shut down when she passes away.
How can I help my boyfriend feel less negatively about death, when I myself have barely ever been affected by it?
Submitted May 24, 2020 at 03:26AM by W15EN12150 https://ift.tt/3c5Zv0B
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