Its the silent treatment, its an insidious , mean , deliberate action on his part, it is meant to hurt, scare, upset and hopefully in the end get you to bow down to what he wants. I experienced this in my relationship with my x, it would cause fear, anger, and anxiety in me that was so painful, quite frankly I would have preferred slamming my finger in the door. It is unacceptable behavior on his part, if you have children it will damage them probably for a very long time. It is very difficult to manage your emotions when someone is abusing you in this way. I personally had to get away from my x to prevent myself from having the silent treatment inflicted on my anymore.
He would tell me he was hurt or angry and that is why he did it, I personally believe he did it because he was unhappy about my behavior and he wanted me to pay , and I did, dearly. If he does not get that it is unacceptable for him to do this to you, it will continue to cause you great harm mentally emotionally , physically and spiritually.
Yes love, it is emotional abuse at its finest. I'm so sorry it is being used against you.