Marriage was originally designed to be a union of two people who understand, support, and love each other.
That’s how every healthy and successful marriage is meant to be.
However, emotional neglect sets in when these basic connections begin to fade from the union.
You might not even notice early enough, except you’re observant because sometimes emotional neglect is very subtle.
It glides in slowly and before you know it, it has taken root and began to cause harm to the marriage.
Its trademark is making one or both individuals feel unseen and unheard in the marriage.
So, even while you’re sharing the same space with your spouse, you’ll feel that both of you are miles apart from each other.
In this article, we’ll be discussing the signs you’re neglecting your husband emotionally.
Please stay with me until the end of this article to explore all the possible scenarios of a wife neglecting her husband emotionally.
Who knows?
It might be happening in your marriage, even without you realizing it.
8 Signs You’re Neglecting Your Husband Emotionally
1. You are fond of minimizing his feelings
One of the signs you’re neglecting your husband emotionally is that you are fond of minimizing his feelings.
Perhaps you often dismiss or downplay his emotions.
Whenever he reacts to things a certain way, you’re always quick to wave him off and not take him seriously.
In your opinion, he is overreacting over something that’s so little.
You might even dismiss his complaint or his reaction to things.
You refuse to acknowledge how he feels, even if your view is not the same as his.
To you, once it’s not in agreement with you, he is totally out of line.
And that’s why you tell him that he’s acting up for nothing, and it’s all in his head.
2. You give him emotional distance when he needs your support
If you are fond of giving your husband emotional distance whenever he needs your support, you are neglecting him emotionally.
I can’t get tired of talking about the importance of support in marriage, which is one of the main reasons most people get married.
Your spouse should be a solid support system whenever you need it.
But what happens when they shut you out and let you go through whatever you’re going through alone?
Can you imagine the pain and heartbreak of knowing you have someone who should be by your side through your difficult times, yet they’re looking the other way?
It’s good that you now have a mental picture of what it feels like.
That’s exactly what you’re doing to your husband whenever you distance yourself from him when he needs your support.
He needs your understanding; all you can do is act dismissive or indifferent about his plight.
It is a clear case of you neglecting him emotionally.
3. You’re not interested in his affairs
Another sign that you are neglecting your husband emotionally is that you constantly show him that you’re not interested in his affairs.
You don’t ask him how his day went at the end of the day, even if he doesn’t fail to ask about your day.
You have just refused to pick up the cue from him.
Even when he noticed your disinterest and decided to tell you on his own without you asking him.
Then, he shares his day, life, experiences, concerns, and so on.
You sit absentmindedly with him.
Or you tell him that you are not in the mood.
Whichever way you choose to behave towards him, it still boils down to your not being interested in his concerns.
No one would feel emotionally validated that way.
4. You don’t spend quality time with him
Not being committed to spending quality time with him is one of the signs you’re neglecting your husband emotionally.
If you’re wondering how you do it, check yourself out.
Do you choose to do other things rather than spend some good time with your husband?
Perhaps your husband cleared his schedule to spend the weekend with you and didn’t leave you in the dark about it.
Towards the weekend, your friends fixed a hang-out for that same weekend.
And you chose to hang out with your friends rather than spend time with your husband, who specifically created time for you.
Note that the weekend hangout does not involve any emergencies, and nothing would have gone awry if you hadn’t attended.
This is just an instance.
The point is that your actions send a clear message across.
You just don’t deem him important enough to prioritize over certain mundane things.
Constantly doing this to him will make him feel unimportant and alone in the marriage.
5. You ignore his special occasions and dates
Another sign that you’re neglecting your husband emotionally is that you constantly ignore dates and occasions that mean so much to him.
Yes.
It’s not just a ‘man thing.’
Women also do it, and considering that women are usually so giddy with excitement over celebrations, it’s a concern.
You intentionally ignore his birthday, wedding anniversary, and other dates and occasions you know mean a lot to him.
No, you did not forget.
This is not the case of occasionally forgetting or mixing up the dates.
Some of us have that happen to us where dates are concerned.
However, some women expect so much from their husbands without acknowledging them or giving them back in return.
6. You limit physical affection
Of course, anyone who is neglecting their spouse emotionally is expected to tread this path.
So, as expected, one of the signs you’re neglecting your husband emotionally is that you limit physical affection with him.
You have reduced drastically, or stopped totally, engaging in physical affection with your husband.
These days, you’re averse to his touches and other gestures that can lead to intimacy, such as hugs, kisses, pecks, and so on.
Some women weaponize sex, and that is terrible.
I read a post where a lady shared how she manipulated her baby daddy with sex for twelve years while they cohabited until he secretly went off to marry someone else.
Withholding sex or playing such games are signs of neglecting your husband emotionally.
I mean, how do you want him to feel about your constant rejections and inconsistencies?
7. You criticise him frequently
Criticism in relationships and marriages should come only when necessary.
When it does, it should be constructive and not destructive.
However, in your case, you are always on a roll nitpicking at your husband.
You don’t hesitate to criticize him at any opportunity you get.
It’s a toxic path to tow, especially in a marriage.
It’ll make your husband start having self-doubts and questioning his choices.
He’ll always double-check whatever he wants to do or say around you.
He’s literally walking on eggshells around you to avoid evoking your biting sarcasm and criticism.
Words can be very hurtful, and if you have no qualms about using hurtful words on your husband or breaking his spirit by constantly jabbing at him, then it’s one of the signs you’re neglecting your husband emotionally.
8. You give him the silent treatment
If you give your husband the silent treatment whenever you have issues, it’s a sign that you’re neglecting him emotionally.
Couples fight.
It’s considered a normal and healthy phenomenon in every relationship and marriage because you’re both different individuals with different backgrounds.
But when issues arise, you are expected to resolve them amicably without blowing things out of proportion.
I guess you don’t care about resolving the issues at all because whenever even the slightest problem arises, you launch into war mode full-time.
You don’t make headway with stonewalling, ignoring, or giving your partner the silent treatment.
But that’s exactly what you do, without considering how your husband feels.
Employing silent treatment as a tool is a sign of selfishness and a lack of concern for the other person’s feelings.