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Author Topic: Husband troubles  (Read 25562 times)

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Re: Husband troubles
« Reply #60 on: April 22, 2026, 08:56:10 AM »
woman you need to be quiet
You must be the type of man that she’s married to, very defensive and insecure.  If the woman can not move in a chair because it will creak and set the guy off, she has more problems than vitamins will solve.  

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Re: Husband troubles
« Reply #61 on: April 22, 2026, 08:58:11 AM »
You said that you and your husband have no access to the TLM, have no Catholic friends, are not financially stable enough to move, and have no children-- and perhaps expect no children, given the infertility?

If I had to guess, I would guess your husband is struggling with purposelessness.  It is difficult for a man who wants a Catholic lifestyle to have nothing that approximates it-- no sacraments, no Catholic social life, and to top it off no children and little to no hope of them.  I'm sure he's wondering what the point is.  His erratic controlling behavior-- obsessing unpredictably over small details of the home-- are likely an expression of that. He isn't getting anything that he wants, so he's seizing on what he CAN have control over. Natural reaction.  

Was he this particular when you married him? Married couples learn behavior from one another. He may be learning particularity from you. I agree with some of the other posters who've questioned your chronic illnesses. I don't think you're lying, but I suspect that something psychosomatic is going on.  He may have learned anxiety from you.

Are you converts? I'm assuming you are, otherwise I don't know how to explain the complete lack of any attachment to other Catholics.  Are there any hobbies or points of common interest that you two share, even from before you converted, that you can do together? Obviously I'm talking about activities that aren't sinful.

If you were someone in my life, and it REALLY isn't possible for you two to move somewhere with regular sacraments and other Catholic friends, my advice would be to find ways to make friends with your husband again. I have known couples who struggled with infertility. I have also known the struggles of it in my own family (although those struggles resolved and we now have five children-- so don't give up hope).  The way you navigate that is by building and cultivating a very strong relationship between the two of you. 

Make yourself his motivation. Please him, nurture him, be patient with him. Pay close attention to what makes him smile and do those things. Make his time around you enjoyable. Make him want to be around you.  This is in the short/medium term. Eventually he needs to have more than just you. He needs his own friends, his own pursuits. All men do. But you have to start somewhere. 

None of this is as a replacement to a good prayer life, but we're not spirits trapped in bodies.  Our natures are physical and spiritual, and the physical/social/psychological elements of our God-given nature have to be given attention.  You're man and wife-- not nun and monk.  Make sure you act like it.


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Re: Husband troubles
« Reply #62 on: April 22, 2026, 09:04:46 AM »
You must be the type of man that she’s married to, very defensive and insecure.  If the woman can not move in a chair because it will creak and set the guy off, she has more problems than vitamins will solve. 
All of that is projection. 

Re: Husband troubles
« Reply #63 on: April 22, 2026, 09:06:12 AM »
You said that you and your husband have no access to the TLM, have no Catholic friends, are not financially stable enough to move, and have no children-- and perhaps expect no children, given the infertility?

If I had to guess, I would guess your husband is struggling with purposelessness.  It is difficult for a man who wants a Catholic lifestyle to have nothing that approximates it-- no sacraments, no Catholic social life, and to top it off no children and little to no hope of them.  I'm sure he's wondering what the point is.  His erratic controlling behavior-- obsessing unpredictably over small details of the home-- are likely an expression of that. He isn't getting anything that he wants, so he's seizing on what he CAN have control over. Natural reaction. 

Was he this particular when you married him? Married couples learn behavior from one another. He may be learning particularity from you. I agree with some of the other posters who've questioned your chronic illnesses. I don't think you're lying, but I suspect that something psychosomatic is going on.  He may have learned anxiety from you.

Are you converts? I'm assuming you are, otherwise I don't know how to explain the complete lack of any attachment to other Catholics.  Are there any hobbies or points of common interest that you two share, even from before you converted, that you can do together? Obviously I'm talking about activities that aren't sinful.

If you were someone in my life, and it REALLY isn't possible for you two to move somewhere with regular sacraments and other Catholic friends, my advice would be to find ways to make friends with your husband again. I have known couples who struggled with infertility. I have also known the struggles of it in my own family (although those struggles resolved and we now have five children-- so don't give up hope).  The way you navigate that is by building and cultivating a very strong relationship between the two of you.

Make yourself his motivation. Please him, nurture him, be patient with him. Pay close attention to what makes him smile and do those things. Make his time around you enjoyable. Make him want to be around you.  This is in the short/medium term. Eventually he needs to have more than just you. He needs his own friends, his own pursuits. All men do. But you have to start somewhere.

None of this is as a replacement to a good prayer life, but we're not spirits trapped in bodies.  Our natures are physical and spiritual, and the physical/social/psychological elements of our God-given nature have to be given attention.  You're man and wife-- not nun and monk.  Make sure you act like it.
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This was me, I forgot to check the box.
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You should assume he resents the infertility, and that means to some degree he resents you for it. That's just an ugly reality of these situations, but it is REALITY and reality is something you need to deal with.  If you're less than five years into your marriage, this is especially the case. Chances are the reality of a childless marriage is settling in on him and he doesn't like it. He needs to be helped to make the best of his marriage, even (especially?) if that includes no children. 

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Re: Husband troubles
« Reply #64 on: April 22, 2026, 09:11:29 AM »
OP here, I wanted to give an update.

I found some very special probiotics formulated for really sensitive individuals that are actually helping me significantly, I am so grateful to God and to everyone here who has prayed for us. A lot of my symptoms have calmed down and I am able to fulfill my duties with greater ease than before. Ashwaghanda has also helped me feel supported in my adrenals, I can handle stress better.

I’ve been trying to eat good fats and protein more consistently and I’m feeling better, and my hormones are doing better too. I think whatever infertility I may have had is healing, since my hormones are improving (I assumed I was infertile since I have never been able to get pregnant). My husband on the other hand has an actual condition that requires surgery to fix.

Our air filter which gets rid of a lot of toxins, including mold spores has left me feeling way less agitated and I can fall asleep with ease! I can’t believe it. I feel so much calmer with the clean air.

I used to wake up at 3-4 am on a regular basis with these horrendous stomach pains that would make me tremble like crazy and keep me awake for awhile, leaving me exhausted the next day. The probiotics and the no-plant GAPS diet have been really soothing on my digestive system. I think my problems have been related to histamines, because eating lamb instead of beef has also given me relief. Chicken has given my husband and I more digestive issues, we have found ground beef is the best for him.

Unfortunately my husband’s migraines are becoming more frequent and worse, sometimes causing blurred vision in his peripheral which worries me a lot, since it happened on his way driving home from work. Then one week recently he had no migraines at all. It’s very up and down, just like his mood and how he treats me. I do not wish to judge him, but I cannot help but notice some things (see below).

I cannot pinpoint what the cause of his moodiness and migraines are. Salt water and magnesium seem to help, but sometimes they do not. I don’t know how to help him manage his stress, it seems like he can’t.

He goes from 0 to 100 so quickly, in terms of being calm to angry or snappy. There’s no inner struggle to be patient that I can observe, and I used to see it when we were courting. I know he can do it because he has done it in front of my family to please me, in the past, and this when he had worse health. But apparently it’s not enough if it’s done for God and me at home where no one is there to witness it. Afterwards he says how exhausting being charitable is. Well, virtue isn’t for the weak! His parents never tried to discipline his anger, they let him have his way, they’re very passive. Their efforts are too gentle and if he doesn’t hear a quiet entreaty they just quit and let him do what he wants. I fear he’s too far gone now. He’s even told me he may be too far gone. I know the grace of God can accomplish anything, and I pray for this every day.

He’s a very hard worker and always tells me he wants to work to provide for me, so I don’t understand why he can’t find it in himself to be kind. Sometimes he can, but other times he can be quite cruel. I do not feel safe with him, I do not trust him. I love and forgive him, but there is no trust.

I feel like I live in a constant fog where I don’t know what’s going on or what to do, his behaviour leaves me in the state of shock most of the time, by the time I begin to think of what to say or do to console him, he’s onto something else that’s angering him, or gets distracted because for example, I placed a picture frame an inch out of place on an end table that I dusted, and things like that.

He has explained to me that he is so particular about our furniture and interior design because it is the only place he can control and find beauty, since the world is so ugly. But to me this indicates a weak interior life (despite all the prayers he says and spiritual reading he does) because as we all know, happiness does not consist in our external surroundings. A lot of the saints had really bare rooms and weren’t depressed. I have as well and it never bothered me, I know other people who were not bothered by that either, who were devout. When one has Jesus, one has everything. I understand the need for a lovely home to come to, but his obsession is quite extreme.

Almost every time I sit down he’s like “be careful!” for fear I’m going to break the chair. I move slightly and it makes a little creek because it’s old, and he gets disquieted because of that. There are many other examples I could give of things like this, but I do not want to make this too long (I may have already reached that point, pardon me!).

How does on deal with such a person?

His birthday is coming up as well, how do I make it special for him since we are limited with our diet and what we can do? I have thought of writing him a poem in a nice card, but I feel like it’s not good enough.
He is the cause of his own sickness. Not you, or the food, or vaccines, or the Church, he is the cause of your, and his problems. Ask me how I know.

Feed him, do not console him. He's one of these weirdos who likely don't feel they "deserve" anything and hate you for trying. I had a best friend the same way for 7 years, unproductive members of society. I know it is hard, if he's truly good at heart he'll wonder why you aren't giving him feedback besides answering simple questions. He'll cool down again, if just for a while. While you can make that last, his brain gets used enough to being happy to do it on his own. Promote celibacy as well, to encourage his brain functions.

Spiritual means are the greatest, all most people need. There are stubborn bodies who don't change after baptism. I was majorly different minutes before mine, some don't get affected 10%. I wonder if you made a mistake choosing this man, regardless, this is the position you chose. You have a difficult cross to bear.