Good afternoon I am 36 years old, I have been living with my husband for 8 years, married for 5 years. Yesterday my husband said he was leaving...
Our relationship is more like brother and sister, mother and son, daughter and father, companionship. We have always been interested in communicating with each other; we have common views on spending leisure time and vacations. We have absolute trust in each other. I calmly let him go to friends for an overnight stay, just like he did me. There are no children and this is a very sore subject for me. For 5 years we have been examined, treated, done IVF - all to no avail. I really want children, my husband is more relaxed about this. He said that he was not ready to devote his whole life to trying to have a child, and was not against adoption. He is very sociable, with a good sense of humor, and smart. He held a leadership position. Now I’ve been laid off, I’m temporarily unemployed, but we’re not sitting without money, we have savings, and I’m working. Our sex life lately is simply non-existent. I’ve been on various pills since January (joint disease), and I have no desire at all. The last time we had sex was a couple of months ago. He doesn't insist. In our couple, sex was not a big deal at all all this time. Only at the beginning, when passions were running high and all that. Although we are both liberated in sex and do not suffer from routine in it. But now he’s completely gone. And apparently both are not attracted to it. Why I can’t understand. Perhaps he stopped seeing me as a sex object. On my part, my husband does not evoke any negative emotions in me, although of course it happens sometimes, but I think that, like everyone else, things don’t always go smoothly. Sometimes we quarrel, but before it was more often and harsher, although our disagreements cannot be called rare even now. But in disputes the truth is born, although disputes almost always end in a quarrel... I am a strong woman, I can do everything myself, in principle, if I want. And he’s not very good at household chores; frankly speaking, he didn’t know how to do anything at all when we met, not even wash the dishes). We live with my mother in a private house. I have a very bad relationship with my mother, he has a much better relationship with her, he calls her mom. He is in some way a catalyst between us: when a storm is brewing, I can be pulled away in time or take the conversation in a different direction. Lately, the relationship in the house between me and my mother has been tense, the situation is very oppressive. For the last two weeks I have seen that I am annoying my husband; there are no usual affectionate hugs, lisps, or conversations. He goes out to see friends very often. There is no other woman - I am 100% sure. And now I don’t know what to do. I don't want to lose him. I want to improve our relationship, it seems to me that we are marking time. But I don't know how. He claims that he has made his decision. I said that I would not hold him, although everything in my soul was torn - what if this is all? Suddenly he leaves and does not return, although deep down I hope that this is temporary, that this is depression against the backdrop of layoffs and the situation in the house. How to behave correctly so as not to aggravate the situation?
It’s probably worth noting that my husband is prone to panic attacks, anxiety, and tension. I saw a psychotherapist. During panic attacks, he takes half or a whole tablet of Xanax (once or twice a month, or maybe not at all). Now he is in some kind of incomprehensible state, something is clearly bothering him, and he is reluctant to talk about this topic. I was sure that this was due to the loss of work and the lack of it for now. He says that he took a long time to decide to leave...
Sorry for the possibly chaotic description of the situation, I didn’t sleep at night, my head is a mess... I don’t understand how to behave. I don’t want to become hysterical and beg to stay. Help me please.