It is important to communicate what you want or need from your spouse. It is not fair to make them guess. And, in the end, you won’t be getting what you want or need.

State your feelings and then what you would like to happen. “I’m feeling [negative emotion]. And I want to feel [positive emotion]. This is what I want from you ….”

“When I did ABC and you didn’t acknowledge my efforts, I’m feeling hurt and angry.  I want to feel appreciated. This is what would help me feel appreciated.” (Notice in the second half of the sentence, the words are not “make me feel appreciated “. It’s “help me feel”. Only you own how you feel; no one makes you feel anything.)

The key is to state how you would like to feel and then make your request. State what you do want, not what you don’t want them to do.  (Not, “I want you to stop ignoring me.” Rather, “I’d like to spend some time together every evening, at least X minutes. Would you be willing to do that?”

It is important that your mindset and words are not that you are assigning blame onto them for what you are feeling. This will derail everything. Stick to true “I statements”.