Two reasons why he walks away from an emotional conversation

Last updated on: November 17, 2017 at 7:41 pm by Shaunti Feldhahn

Two reasons why he walks away from an emotional conversation 2017-11-17T19:41:05+00:00 Shaunti Feldhahn

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A reader recently asked: “Why does my boyfriend always seem to RUN from a conflict? Well, not so much conflict, as emotion. When things get intense, especially if I start crying, I need resolution –but he’s heading out the door. I try to keep him there, but he says he needs space and leaves. It is hurtful. He’s a great guy, but running when you’re mad seems unhealthy; so I don’t know if I want to move forward with him.”

Before I jump into this, let me say first: If any man wants to love his wife or his girlfriend well, he should not just walk away from an emotional conversation without notice. Turning and walking away? That’s just rude.

And leaving your wife or girlfriend hanging, and in distress, wondering, “Are we okay?” That’s hurtful.

However, I also recently wrote an article about the fact that the way men are wired to relate is very legitimate; it is often just different from the way we are wired. And this seems like one of those cases.

Some men do not have the same need to escape an intense conversation, of course, but the vast majority of the men on our surveys do.

We women feel like the only reason they walk away is that they are angry with us, and simply don’t want to talk because of that.

We couldn’t be more wrong.

That dynamic only applied to a small minority of men (three in ten). Most of the time, there’s something else entirely going on. You can see more about this in the newer, revised edition of For Women Only, but let’s tackle the two main reasons why men walk away from a conversation. (Even if we think they shouldn’t.)

Previous Post

October 3, 2016

Four things I would tell the woman who called me a “dumb broad”

Next Post

October 11, 2016 Husbands, Get in the Habit of Telling Your Wife This

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category dissent Editor's Choice gifts humor kindness marriage men other parenting sex singleness teenagers Uncategorized women work

Select a Month November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 April 2017 March 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

To where did Jesus' family flee from Bethlehem?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Samaria Nazareth Egypt Greece