Case. Physical closeness became rare; both are anxious but avoid the conversation.
Model. Often it’s not a cause but an indicator: fatigue, grievances, a depleted emotional bank show up through closeness.
What helped. They worked not “on the symptom” but on accumulated tension and a lack of everyday warmth; brought back small gestures of closeness outside the bedroom.
Lesson. Closeness is repaired through warmth and talk, not through demands.
See Emotional bank.