Thanks for the hugs on my first post - my ABF sounds a little similar to yours. Since seeing his therapist, he's got better at expressing his feelings, previously he'd not say a bean about what he wanted, felt or thought. Now, he is better at showing and saying but in his most recent relapse, he's started to say that he would kill himself if it weren't for me. That he loves me too much, more than his children and that he should leave me. When drunk he alternates between pulling me too him, then pushing me away often within a heatbeat, back and forth, back and forth.
I think the getting help can stir up new emotions, thoughts and behaviours, he's starting to look at things that he's previously ignored - the good thing is that he is seeking help, I hope it continues.