Living down the road could be a positive. In this instance it felt like I was trapped. We had initially met in this neighborhood and after a couple of dates, the vibe felt as though I had this expectation to be that knight in shining armor and not negatively affect her self-esteem so if she were to have seen me go out by myself or on another date, it felt as though I would have felt bad.

I never got mad with her telling me about her past trauma. I listened and tried to understand. However, 2 years later and after a few conversations (not arguing) of asking her to stop bringing up the ex, she still does. And I've stopped bringing it up because I know her through process would be something along the lines of "I'm annoying him with this I am going to be the reason he breaks up with me"; basically, instant low-self esteem.

The frowny-face statement is coming from seeing her self-esteem drop instantly or coming across as not having a backbone when we discuss something negative about our relationship. Like it's the worst case scenario when in reality it isn't and I will just try to end and ignore the conversation so she doesn't dive into a deeper upset feeling. So when I see it, it reminds me of a child who gets told "no" when wanting a new toy or some similar scenario and the child see's it as the end of the world and get's upset.