Not able to express my feelings

I'm hearing there is tension in the household at the moment @Pootle . I'm sorry things are so tough at the moment.

Have you tried speaking to your partner about this when you are both calm? e.g. "I've noticed that lately, there seems to be some tension between us. I understand you are in pain. I am also struggling. How do you think we can make this work so it benefits all of us including our son?"

Something along the lines of that. I just think open communication is so important. I'm also wondering, do you have any other supports in place for yourself?

Hi @tyme ,

I have tried yes. We sat on the bed and calmed down and cuddled which was nice. Then he said ‘ask me!’

I replied‘sorry, ask you what honey?’

he said ‘ask me how I am!’

I was kind of wierded out but I asked him and he talked about how he felt (which I knew). Then just as I was about to respond he picked up his phone and replied to a text from his ex wife - an issue we argued about just the day before. I walked out of the room. He and his ex text daily because they have ‘co-parenting’ issues to discuss although their son is perfectly fine and happy and she will see him in 2 days.

I hear there are a lot of factors involved in this @Pootle - not just the physical pain.

Do you think you would give 1800 RESPECT a call? I've heard they are super-helpful (I guess it depends on who you get).

I also want to acknowledge that it takes a lot to reach out in the first place @Pootle . Well done for doing so.

I look forward to hearing how you go.

Hey @Pootle

I hear you on that. I think that you might need to speak about how you are feeling in a calm manner to him to see if he could come to a compromise and a middle ground with it. If you don't feel comfortable doing that, or you think he might react to it in not a great way, then it might be worth letting some family or close friends know how you are feeling so that they can provide some extra support so that you're not carrying all of it by yourself. Maybe if he has multiple people checking in on him a day it might make him feel a bit better and less lonely, and also less expectant for you to do everything emotionally for him.

Is that something you think might benefit?

All the best,

Amber22