LDR Partner decided to “unplug” for a week. Is this a compatibility red flag?
I (30M) am currently working a contract job abroad with a major time difference. My girlfriend (27F) and I have been dating for about 4 months. She just finished a massive, high-stress project that has been consuming her time for months.
The weird part is the timing. Literally the same day her project ended, she told me she "loves me more than she thought possible" and is terrified of getting her heart broken. Then, just a few hours later, she sent a message saying she’s going on a digital hiatus for a week. She basically said she’s burnt out from being "on call" and won't be checking her phone or responding to texts much because she needs to "disconnect from the world".
In a long-distance relationship, the phone is our only connection. To me, it feels like she’s taking a vacation from the relationship right when we finally have the time to actually talk. I'm struggling because she’s a total introvert who mostly hangs out with family, whereas I have a huge social circle, I’m always traveling for work, and I’m very active. She didn't ask how I felt about her disappearing for a week while I'm thousands of miles away; she just informed me it was happening.
I’m worried that if I just accept this, I’m setting a precedent where I have to shrink my own needs for connection to accommodate her habit of isolating whenever she's stressed. Is this just post-stress behavior I should ignore, or is this a sign that we’re fundamentally mismatched?