Your thinking helps you, and drives growth in your relationship, or it hinders you, and stunts relationship growth. Here are different husband comments:

• My thoughts have been frozen for years. How could I possibly connect with you and your emotions?
• My own thoughts disturb me, so there is no way I can understand your internal battles.
• My thoughts confuse me, so of course I also get lost in yours.
• My thoughts have been painful since my youth. I try not to think emotional thoughts.
• My thoughts haunt me and I don’t want to slow down and hear your haunting troubles.
• My thoughts are not understandable. Just avoid them. Why can’t we just talk about tasks, obligations, and chores?
• My thoughts burden me. I don’t want to talk about them and burden you.

You ask, how come I can’t help you struggle through emotions issues? I freeze up, I get lost, I don’t want to sound dumb, and I get frozen in my own thoughts. I feel powerless. So I retreat into self survival. I shift back into going it alone. I care, but I don’t know how to express it.

Prayer

Father, help me. My wife is emotionally lonely. And, I’m emotionally stunted. I hate emotions. It is such a weak area in me. I hate feeling. I hate sounding stupid. When I feel things I try to just ignore them. Father, can you help me in my emotional weakness? I want to operate as you designed me. Can you please heal my heart? I need your help. Amen.

Bible

Read Ephesians 4:20-24

put off your old self… be made new in the attitude of your mind… put on the new self.