"To start, resentment is a complex emotion rooted in anger and typically involves feeling slighted in some way. In my clinical experience, because of a sense of being slighted, mistreated, or wronged, many people direct their resentment toward someone else and focus on that person and the mistreatment. And since I am a sex and couples therapist, in my office, someone else is typically their partner."
"The resentment-having partner typically copes with that resentment in a variety of ways, from passive-aggressive communication to withdrawal to shutting down emotionally. (Notice I did not say they talk to their partner about it.) None of these are effective long-term strategies, but most people say they do not know another way to manage their resentment. And between the feeling of resentment and those strategies, that person's interest in and desire for sex with their partner inevitably decreases."
Resentment is a complex emotion rooted in anger and typically involves feeling slighted, mistreated, or wronged, often directed toward a partner. Resentful partners commonly cope through passive-aggressive communication, withdrawal, or emotional shutdown rather than addressing the issue directly. Those coping strategies, combined with the resentment itself, decrease interest in sexual intimacy. The other partner often feels confused, interprets rejection as personal, and may develop their own resentment. Attempts at apology commonly follow once resentment is identified, but apologies alone may not resolve lingering resentment. Resentment frequently underlies low-sex or no-sex patterns in long-term couples.
Read at Psychology Today
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