I am having difficulties with my boyfriend. We have been together for about 10 months. In the beginning of our relationship he seemed to be really grateful to be with me. He would tell me a lot how thankful he was to be with me and said he would try to always make sure I was taken care of. These days I feel like he is taking me more for granted. On Valentine's day I said I didn't want to exchange gifts but I told him a day before I had gotten him a card, trying to send a hint that a card or some other way of communicating his feelings is what I wanted. I get that that may have been indirect but he definitely knows how much I appreciate sentimental words. He did not get me a card nor did he tell me anything sweet until after he read the card I wrote him and when he did it was a quick few words echoing back what I had told him (nothing original). I feel like lately he has been distracted because he has gotten a canker sore on his uvula and he cannot tolerate the pain it's causing him. He was thinking of not even doing anything on Valentine's day but in the end decided to follow up on our plans to revisit the place where we first met. While we were there however I felt he was somewhat distant and distracted. I have felt like everything is kind of like a crisis for him. He has been working longer hours and is thinking of changing jobs for the second time because he feels frustrated at his job and doesn't like working with his bosses. He has an older brother who we hang out with sometimes and when we do it is always a disaster because this brother has temper tantrums and my boyfriend always freaks out when this happens and it is a new crisis. My boyfriend gets road rage every time we drive somewhere and curses when people are driving too slow. I am kind of a sensitive person when it comes to expressions of anger and it has been hard to sit through all of this. I don't think I would mind it as much but I feel like through all of the anger and crisis it is hard for him to find mental space to show me love and affection. I love words of affirmation and most of the time the texts he sends me are so short. When I suggested we go rock climbing together again he just liked the message instead of sending a real response. It's like he is choosing to disregard my style and preferences despite knowing what I like. I feel like I am always sacrificing myself for him. I skipped my workout last week because I needed to calm him down after a stressful day at work. I talk to him on the phone every day even when it's not convenient for me. I text him late at night when he goes out and misses me despite needing to sleep. I am in the mental health field and so I am very in tune with emotions and feelings but he does not seem comfortable approaching this subject or talking about it. I feel like when I was dating before meeting him I dated people who seemed more happy and passionate about their careers. They had a more positive energy and seemed to have more respect for what I did. Not everyone was like that but there were some. I wonder if I am missing out on something better and more compatible for me. What I liked about him when we met was how easy it was to talk to him. We had an immediate connection and chemistry. I think that is still there but we have some very serious differences. I spoke to him and brought up the continual crisis thing and he was initially defensive but later said he would try and make changes. But I have no idea what those changes will look like or whether he has any concrete plans to do so.