My boyfriend likes to isolate himself. How do I handle his isolation?

Anonymous
My boyfriend likes to isolate himself and I don't know how to handle it. I asked him if it was depression. He says it is not. He said he goes through phases where he just wants to shut the world out (that means including me) and be by himself for days even weeks. And it hurts me when he does this. And I feel like it's gotten worse. I ask questions like if he still loves me and still wants to be with me etc, but that seems to annoy him. Though he says he wants me to be in his life, but at the same time likes being by himself. I feel as though I can't talk to him lately. His mind is always somewhere else. I don't know what causes him to go into isolation. He doesn't even know why he is the way he is. Though he said it may have something to do with his family. Growing up with a big family where they fuss and argued a lot and not being able to escape might have caused these isolation problems. Like when me and him get into an argument he wants to shut down and disappear for a while. We're always going to have arguments, but it's hard on me when he shuts down because of it. It's hard on the both of us. He pushes me away because of it. So I guess it's stress related? How do I deal with his isolation because it hurts me.
My boyfriend likes to isolate himself. How do I handle his isolation?
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