Thank you for your responses.

I agree that I need to invest the work to make sure that our relationship strikes a healthier balance, and so that I don’t place such an emphasis on this being my means of support and happiness.

Taking some of the pressure off the way that we interact and spend time with each other might be a good answer – in the back of my mind, I just worry that this approach will cause us to drift apart but, again, this is just me being insecure about our relationship.

I will make sure I take a step away, acknowledge and rationalise my feelings before reacting to them in future. That can be easier said that done in the heat of a moment, but it’s important I make an effort to communicate in a healthy way.

Thanks for the advice – hopefully things become easier. We’re looking to move to the same place within the next year. 🙂