I wonder if the intensity of LW's self-image as a "perfectionist English major" made the husband feel like nothing he wrote himself would be good enough. The line about not holding him to impossible standards lands to me like a put-down of his abilities, like of course it would be impossible for him to write as well as LW does. Whatever the cause, the husband apparently felt like he had to figure out a solution on his own rather than talk to LW about his anxiety, which makes me worried for how this marriage is going to go.