It's normal for couples to feel some level of disconnect from time to time. It is important to acknowledge the disconnect and talk about it.
This is because you either feel like he will not care about your problems, you no longer respect his opinions, or you think, “I feel neglected by my husband,” and are not emotionally secure enough with him to share your problems.
Marriages need intimacy to survive.
The level and type of intimacy will differ from one couple to another. Some couples like intimacy while others can survive without it. The problem of a lack of intimacy in a marriage only arises when the two people disagree about how important intimacy is to each of them.
There's a term for this: walkaway wife syndrome. This term is sometimes used to describe instances where a spouse – often the wife – has felt alone, neglected, and resentful in a deteriorating marriage and decides it's time to end it.
Absence of intimacy: physical touch and emotional connection can become rare or nonexistent, leaving both partners feeling distant and disconnected. Unresolved conflicts: Persistent unresolved conflicts create a sense of emotional distance and hinder the growth of emotional connection.
In the context of a marriage, the feelings of neglect, being left out, and not being heard are collectively referred to as emotional abandonment. It occurs when one partner is so preoccupied with their own concerns that they are unable to notice the struggles, concerns, or problems their partner is experiencing.
Emotional neglect occurs when a spouse fails on a regular basis to attend to or respond to their partner's emotional needs. This is marked by a distinct lack of action by one person toward the feelings of the other, including an absence of awareness, consideration, or response to a spouse's emotions.
If both partners are willing to do the work and commit to the future of the relationship there may be reason to hang on. However, physical or emotional abuse, chronic cheating, illegality, differing opinions about having children, and addictions are very difficult to change and usually spell the end of the marriage.
You feel like you're withdrawing from your partner, or you're not physically responsive to them. You ignore your partner. If you used to ask about their schedule or check-in during workdays but feel like you have lost interest, it could be a sign that things have changed. You don't argue anymore.
There are a couple of reasons why this may have occurred. Pursuing and distancing are normal and common ways for couples to relate to one another when they are under stress. A problem occurs only when the pattern of pursuing and distancing gets entrenched and the pursuer and distancer become polarised in painful ways.
Sometimes it stems from not spending enough quality time together. Other times it stems from not speaking each other's love languages. Whatever it is, make it a priority to figure it out and address it immediately. If you're the one feeling disconnected, confront your partner gently.
This is where emotional neglect can turn into emotional abuse. The partner with childhood emotional neglect fails to understand his/her own emotions and, feeling out of control, acts out in destructive anger. Being emotionally connected requires behavioural and physical actions as well as emotional ones.
Stonewalling is when a person in a relationship withdraws from an interaction, shuts down, and simply stops responding to their partner. Rather than confronting the issue, people who stonewall resort to evasive maneuvers.
Stages of a Dying Marriage
A dying marriage is a marriage that is on the brink of ending. The stages of a dying marriage include denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. These stages are similar to the stages of a breakup but may take longer to complete.
But that doesn't mean loneliness in a marriage is necessarily normal. If you feel alone in a marriage, it's often a sign that there's an underlying issue in the relationship or in your own personal life that must be addressed.
Recognize that when a woman shuts down emotionally (or a man!) it is because she is trying to protect herself from getting hurt. Maybe she had a bad experience with a parent or former partner, and she is afraid to be yelled at or abused in some way. Shutting down emotionally is often a form of self-preservation.
"Silent divorce refers to a gradual slow decline of a relationship whereby two people drift apart," says relationship therapist Beverley Blackman.
Al-Sherbiny [41] reported the “first wife syndrome,” where the first wife reported difficulties faced psychological, physical, and social problems among women in a polygamous marriage.
The author, Carin Rubenstein, has discovered that millions of wives think they do everything better than their husbands. They feel they are more responsible, more capable, and, in a word, superior.