I'm wondering how you guys deal with an upset/withdrawn girlfriend. In my case, usually over minor issues. Things like "you don't listen to me" or whatever other fucked up thing I've done, which seems to be a common occurrence in her eyes.

Generally her MO is to go silent, although not to disappear. She'll sit silent on the phone, or keep a text conversation just active enough that it doesn't end, while not actually trying to work through the issue.

Seems like a shit test... although an atypical one due to frequency among other things. I've walked away before to see if she'll come back and either drop it or try to work it out, which sometimes works, sometimes doesn't. Generally insisting that we talk about it works, she eventually opens up, and we "solve" the problem. This consists of me apologizing, refusing to apologize if I don't feel that it is warranted, or just making her feel better by spewing a bunch of "I love you" shit etc which she actually does respond to pretty well.

But I think this is a short term solution and only leads to more of the same. My biggest issue is not how to deal with an issue, but how to deal with the silent (or mostly silent) treatment. I'm not so sure this is a shit test, otherwise walking away would be the obvious solution.

Even more importantly, how should an issue like this NOT be dealt with?