What’s missing in my relationship?

[Snowflakewater]

I love my partner but lately it’s just felt like somethings missing. We were apart for a while due to him travelling to another country for 7 months to complete his medical training. He’s come back and I feel strange. I’m happy to see him but I feel I’ve suppressed a lot of emotion and by not seeing him I feel like I’ve just pushed the emotion of needing to see him away. So now when I do see him I feel odd.

The exact same thing happened when we had a lockdown I had to suppress emotion.

Can anyone help me understand what’s happening?

Do you want to be with him?

Does him being back mean that you feel you can’t do as you please as you did with him gone?

it could be that him not physically being around has shown you your true feelings

Yeah I do want to be with him but I suppressed

a lot of emotion so it’s not easy

It sounds like you essentially cut off the feelings and grieved him as if he was gone. And now it'd like you're supposed to just pick up from where you left off as if that didn't happen. So it feels weird and perhaps, over familiar.

Maybe make a point of dating again. Re-getting to know eachother. Rebuild the intimacy. If, you don't enter to actually just call it a day that is.

*don't intend to

No I do want to. I feel like I have grieved him it’s odd. It’s like when he’s not been there I just pick up the pieces myself and it’s hard and can be really tough some days. I love him so much but it’s hard sometimes