Relationships: Is it normal for someone to shut down if their partner doesn’t respond?

At the beginning of a relationship, one may find that their partner is quite or even extremely receptive. What this means is that this person will listen to what she has to say, stop doing certain things if they have a negative effect on her, and be open to feedback, among other things.

In other words, you will feel seen and heard by this person, and you will know that they exist when you are around them. Along with this, one will most likely behave in the same way when around this person.

A firming experience

Being around someone like that is going to have positive mental and emotional health. There will be how they feel when they are in your presence and there will be how they feel when they are not.

If they were to think about this person, they might think about how perfect they are and even how grateful they are to have met someone like that. What this may show is that they have only been with them for a short amount of time.

an uplifting effect

When they’re not with that person, they can spend a lot of time thinking about them and going over the positive feelings they’ve experienced with them. While this may mean that they are not as present as they usually are, their energy may be much better than it usually is.

As a result of this, your friends, family and colleagues will know that something in your life has changed. They’ll probably know anyway, but even if they weren’t aware of the fact that one is in a relationship, their general behavior would make it more or less clear.

a harmonious flow

If one were to compare their relationship to something else, they might compare it to dancing. The reason for this is that, like two people dancing together, both you and your partner will work together.

In a dance, one person will move their body and the other person will move their body shortly after; whereas when it comes to their relationship, one of them will talk and the other will listen, for example. Then one and her partner will work together, instead of working against each other.

stay awake

As your relationship progresses, you both may find that it is much more difficult for you to be like this. However, thanks to their fondness for each other and their commitment to their own growth, they can do what they can to make sure they don’t burn out.

This may mean that one or both of you will need to learn more about relationships or that one of you will need to work with a therapist/healer. Ultimately, you will do whatever it takes to stay present and be there for each other.

another scenario

Now, while this is what will happen in some relationships, there will be others where something very different will happen. Here, someone may find that their partner becomes less receptive as time goes on.

At first, then, they may have been quite or even extremely receptive, but over time this will have changed. It could be like they are with a completely different person.

Invisible

So while they may have felt seen and heard during the beginning of their relationship, they won’t feel that way now. When you are with your partner, you may have moments where you wonder if they exist.

The reason for this is that it may seem like your partner is no longer there. You might bring this up and talk about the things that are bothering you, only to find that your partner isn’t listening or interested in what you have to say.

a result

Or, even if there are times when they pay attention to what you have to say, it doesn’t mean that nothing is going to happen. Your partner could continue to behave in the same way as before.

After experiencing this for a while, one may end up shutting down. Then you will have gone from being full of energy and feeling alive at one moment, to having no energy and feeling dead at another.

Personal protection

Then one will still be in a relationship with this person, but just like them, they will be gone. They will be there physically, but they will not be there emotionally, and it is very likely that this was done to protect them.

Being in tune with how they feel around someone like this will be painful, so closing down will be a way to minimize the amount of pain they experience. The problem is that while this may prevent them from experiencing painful feelings, it will also prevent them from experiencing pleasant feelings.

there is no way to live

It will be as if you are trying to dance with someone who does not want to move and this will have prevented you from trying to move. Your energy will have changed and it will be vital that you do something about it.

If your partner is not willing to communicate or change their behavior, you may need to cut ties with them. The truth is, they don’t deserve to experience life this way.

Awareness

If you are in a very low place and have lost touch with your inner strength, you may need to seek external support. This is something that can be provided with the help of a therapist or healer.

And if one finds out that this is not the first time this has happened, there is a chance that they have a lot of internal wounds to heal. Perhaps their early years were a time when they also felt indivisible and had to shut down to survive.