Problems with my husband.


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Problems with my husband. Expand / Collapse
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Posted Wednesday, May 30, 2007 3:19 PM
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This forum is looking a little lonely so i guess i will get the ball rolling...

Firstly a little bit about myself. I am a married stay at home mother of 2 children. My husband and i have our own business and this is where our problems stem from so here goes the essay... (BTW im so happy i stumbled upon a 'mens' forum coz now i can get a man's perspective/opinion.advice and not the one's espoused by women's magazines.)

Basically my husband works WAY too many hours. Even if he only worked 4 days a week we would not starve and still have a roof over our heads. His excuse is that if he doesnt work we dont make as much money but he hardly sees the kids and he hardly sees me.

Our r/ship is suffering and we have many problems.

Firstly, our sex life has not just taken a back seat, it has literally been thrown out the window. I know he works very hard for us (please tell me if i sound like a selfish b***) but i am SO FRUSTRATED!!!!!!!!. I am so irritable because of this and i snap at my children a lot. He is always too tired for sex and when is isnt tired he isnt in the mood for it. Ever. i have tried talking to this about him and he tells me he is too tired so deal with it. When we do have sex - i know this is horrible and im not proud of it one bit - i harass him from dinnnertime onwards so that he knows that i want it. Most of the time he tells me he is too tired and i accept it. I feel like im being starved. Along with the lack of sex is the general lack of intimacy and affection. I always try and give him cuddles and kisses and he just shrugs me off. I send him cute sms' and he will ring me up and say 'what was that for'.

Secondly, trying to make him talk about our personal and private issues is very hard. He is always clammed up and it doesnt help that i hardly see him. If i try and talk to him he will either shrugs me off or give some typical guy answer and thats what im left with. Surprisingly there is very little tension between us, probably coz we get along very well, we really are best friends and also because i keep my emotions in check around him. Unfortunately its my children who suffer i.e i take it out on them. Also i must add that EVERYTHING is done for him housework wise. I used to ask him to help out but he used to hate being asked to help even though it wasless for me to do but since i decided i would not ask him to help out heis much happier. He is also like this with the kids, I never ask him to help out and he likes it this way.

Thirdly, because of all the above, im scared that if an opportunity presents itself, that i will stray.

What i would like to know is how do i talk to him with the goal being to make him open up about our lack of intimacy, how long he works etc without trying to sound overbearing?

As for our sex problems, who do u go to for help???

Any bit of advice would be great and thanks for listening to my rant

sass
Post #46
Posted Thursday, May 31, 2007 11:35 AM
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Hi sass. Somehow you posted twice - slightly different posts, and I wasn't sure which to reply to... Anyway, I've gone for the later one. So I'm hearing three major issues: lack of sex, lack of time together, and lack of affection, all of which could be summarised as a lack of intimacy. I empathise! I was in a relationship for many years with someone who lost interest sexually after a year or so, and then basically we had sex about twice a year, if that. In the end it was too much for me. I just couldn't deal with the frustration, and I couldn't get any commitment on her part to work on the issue. It sounds like you face a dilemma if you husband is closed to discussions around these issues, because obviously you can't get anywhere without his willing co-operation. But maybe the way you phrase the question reveals something - you said you don't want to sound "overbearing", and reading between the lines I'm guessing that you are hiding the seriousness of the problem from your husband. Like many blokes in problematic relationships, he probably has no idea how serious the issue is getting. The fact is, we're pretty thick when it comes to picking this sort of stuff up. I bet he'd be surprised and horrified to know that you are questioning your capacity to remain faithful to him - even though I fully understand, having been there. I can also understand things from your husband's perspective, because like him, I tend to overwork, and it drives my curent wife crazy sometimes. I have to really consciously work on it. I know I use work to avoid facing emotional stuff, so you can get into a vicious circle, with the work being the way you avoid stuff in your relationship, and the stuff getting worse because your always at work! My advice? Don't worry about being overbearing. Your husband has to know that you are dissatisfied and that it is serious, and that his relationship is in trouble. Yes, he won't like having his status quo disturbed. But if you let things go on, you're going to find yourself, like me, hitting the rocks quite unexpectedly. As far as who can help with the sexual issues, there are therapists who specialise in this area and any relationship counseller should be able to help.
Post #48
Posted Tuesday, July 10, 2007 6:56 PM
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I believe he is doing these things because he wants to. It sounds like he has of interest in just about anything. I'd suggest trying not to pushhim as it's only seen as nagging, although from your point of view, you are not getting thing from your relationship.
I have a problem with my wife. I feel tired and don't feel like sex. I haven't for a long time. She then has started going out on Friday nights and has given me an altermation- have sex with me, or I'll get it from somewhere else. It snapped me back into position and started to be intermet with my wife. Unfornunity, when the kids were in bed, it was showtime for us. I was really excited, but also scared (scared because I thought i wouldn't be able to satisfy her), then I went soft. We tried to revive me back into an erection, but it never happened.
I'm telling you this because if you push him, it may backfire and a worse effect could happen.
Maybe when you are both in bed at night time, try to play with his penis softly and see if you get a reaction. You may find thAt if you do it slowly, you may get a better reaction.
Although I don't know both of you, so I think your best judgement would play a part in this scenario.
Best of luck!!


cool_bananas
Post #90
Posted Friday, July 13, 2007 2:07 PM
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Hi Sass,
It's been awhile since you first posted, and I'm just new to the forum, but hopefully I can offer my perspective...

My story: I've been having relationship problems for the last four years (married 15), and been getting counseling for depression for the last couple. During this time my interest in my wife has dramatically decreased. I still have desires, and physically have no issues, but the pressure of the relationship problems and the pressure from my wife for me to initiate intimacy has totally destroyed my desire.

The depression doesn't help as that has killed my desire for her too. Perhaps your partner is feeling overwhelmed and can't express it (typical of us males). I've got 3 children and they do get in the way of intimate time, but they are really only a small part of the problem.

We argue alot, I'm not progressing from my counseling (lack of commitment to the relationship perhaps), and I've been getting the ultimatums "get your act together or move out". My 6yo boy is getting particularly affected by my lack of consistency and emotional support.

All together the "us time" is not happening. I work, get home, get all the problems of the day dumped on me, I lack the motivation to progress, my wife goes to bed early "cause she can't talk to me" and I sleep on the couch - I sleep better there than in bed!

So from all this what can I suggest?

1. Give your husband less attention for awhile, give him space to relieve the pressure
2. Find something that does turn your husband on and do it in the background (eg. for me lingerie would do it, if my wife would wear it - but only let me see it by accident, without jumping on me, it would greatly increase my interest) It could be anything, like bring him a beer and just sit with him watching the football...
3. Try something small like hold his hand, or patting on the arse - nothing which requires him to make a big response...
4. Let him make a small move and give him a little encouragement, but again don't jump him straightaway
- little by little increase the tit-for-tat until you can up the ante
5. Try waking him up in the morning (when he's not working) with a gentle caress and go from there...

If this doesn't work, try the hard sell - strap him to the bed and get all your desires worked out on him - he may not initially like it, but at least you get what you need, and maybe he'll come to the party....

Hope this helps...

Roger
Post #93
Posted Tuesday, December 11, 2007 11:37 AM
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Hi sass and guys,
I'm glad I stumbled across this site too. My other half and I are having similar problems. We have been married 5 years (problems for about four years - I sometimes wonder if we were suited in the first place), two young kids and we both work full time (not self-employed). Like you I have a strong sex drive but my other half doesn't and there seem to be a number of reasons for this. He has slept on the couch for about two years and we have sex maybe twice a year. He has a real problem with depression and I wonder how much might be my fault, or if it was always there and I just didn't know. Anyway, I'm not going to take over the conversation, I just wanted to offer my support as someone with similar issues, and I'll give the suggestions the guys made a go. It would be great to hear which advice you decided to take and how it went.
cheers


lilybell
Post #210
Posted Thursday, January 10, 2008 6:13 PM
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hey,

This is all ringing a familiar bell for me. 60yr old experiencing low libido for 10yrs ..never bothered to do anything about it. Wife of 14 yrs (2nd) starting to lose her incredible tolerance, feels its her lack