Hi Audacia,
The silent treatment is the worst, isn't it? It is the most frequently used coping mechanism for my pwBPD. The silent treatment really does cut like a knife.
I don't even know what it looks like for a man to comfort his wife/SO in times of difficulty. How do men without BPD respond to their SO when they realize they've said or done something that hurt their SO's feelings? What does that look like?
When my pwBPD thinks he has hurt me or I am upset because of him, he withdraws. He wants to avoid any negative feelings at all costs. He will either divert the conversation or stop talking. Many times he actually will leave the room and go into the bedroom and lock himself in there. He will tend to stay in there for a period of time and then come out and act like the conversation did not happen.
PwBPD's internal feelings of shame/guilt/anger/sadness are so intense. Many times a pwBPD can barely cope with their own feelings, let alone ours. They use coping mechanisms to "protect" themselves from these negative feelings.
The coping mechanisms really are invalidating for us.