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March 20, 2020 at 1:51 am in reply to: Trying to deal with anxiety and loss after relationship break up #344310Adelaide1Participant
Hey Genie, hope you are feeling a bit less anxious now!
It is certainly a bewildering and extremely anxiety provoking time. Be kind to yourself – there is so much going on it’s natural to be struggling a bit.
I don’t know your ex’s motives obviously but given the unprecedented scale of things could it be that he is just genuinely checking in on you? As Shelby’s ex has, and mine. I would just thank him and wish him well but not engage further.
It’s easy to feel lonely when making connections with people is harder than usual, and given all that is happening it is unprecedentedly hard. Can you FaceTime some friends perhaps? It is natural to want to reach out to Jay given your strong feelings for him; I guess I’d just advise that you sit with your anxiety first and wait til it lessens a bit before doing so too much, else you may inadvertently undo your hard work and overanalyse and react, as our poor brains are so prone to doing.
I for one would be happy to connect off the forum if helpful – I guess by email in the first instance? As I’ve said before always happy to lend an ear especially in these troubling times!
Hope you are all taking care as much as possible. Thinking of you all!
March 17, 2020 at 2:46 am in reply to: Trying to deal with anxiety and loss after relationship break up #343744Adelaide1Participant@genie, sorry at the time I posted you hadn’t yet but my post required approval, I guess because I posted a link. I am beyond thrilled to hear about your chat with Jay going so well! Like Shelby said you absolutely deserve this, and I am so proud of you for taking such a considered approach even when all your instincts are telling you otherwise, and even when you know there are risks! That is truly triumphing over anxiety. And undoubtedly there will be times you feel gripped by it again but the important thing is that you can rely on yourself to get through and let it pass. Amazing!!
I agree that this thread has helped me through some extremely low days, and I have endless gratitude towards you all in taking the time to give me reassurance, encouragement and honest advice. I would be in a very different, much less strong place without it I feel.
@Michelle it is so nice to hear from you! Glad you are safe. Fingers crossed things remain under control and you are able to get out! Thanks so much for valuing my contributions. You’re right, ignorance truly is bliss… but then I guess as the saying goes knowledge is power! And yup, the people pleasing is such a hard habit to break and there are a plethora of logical reasons why, as a disabled woman, I have developed it – so I don’t begrudge myself for it but like you say, about taking the opportunity to recognise it and react differently. Thanks for your reassurance about reaching out to my ex. She replied and thanked me for being so lovely. And my poor heart for a moment divulged in a fantasy about getting back together, but the difference from a few months ago is that I can much more easily correct that thinking with a dose of reality. And the reality is that neither of us would be able to meet each other’s physical, emotional, and communication needs- I mean god, that was hard enough when we weren’t in the middle of a global pandemic with her respective health needs and my accessibility ones! So yes while I still care for her a lot, the fantasy of her being the person for me is over and that feels good tbh.I’m also currently coaching a friend through a breakup and it feels really gratifying having all these lessons to pass on. He’s currently trying the “I’ll just try keep in casual contact, I can’t do no contact” approach which I remember extremely well. But people have to figure this stuff out in their own time. You definitely all helped me with that too.
The world is certainly a scary place to be at the moment. Unlike a lot of countries we don’t have community spread here yet and the govt has taken extreme border measures early. But only a matter of time it seems. Feeling thankful for how adaptable being disabled has made me – I am used to living with extreme uncertainty, having to change plans and make peace with having restricted access to things all the time – but also acutely aware of my and many friends’ vulnerabilities as a result. Very sensible to avoid the news and just take things one day at a time.
Shelby, so impressed with the reaction to your ex’s text!! You have come a hugely long way. Really!
Sending love and calming vibes to all. xox
- This reply was modified 4 years, 9 months ago by Adelaide1.
March 15, 2020 at 9:47 am in reply to: Trying to deal with anxiety and loss after relationship break up #343368Adelaide1ParticipantHello my friends!
Thank you for so much for being so kind. I have taken so much heart in your words and your perceptions of me. I know this is an internet forum but I genuinely enjoy the connections we have all made here and the support we give each other. I am glad my advice helps and hope you know that I feel the same about the advice you give me.
@shelbyville, have you made a decision about your job yet?? I hope therapy gave you the guidance you were looking for.Reading about how your friend makes you feel made me smile, and also felt so familiar in terms of thinking you are not good enough. I am so happy you can be yourself around him wholly and unapologetically… you deserve that, we all do!
@genie – have you met with Jay yet? Hoping you are feeling okay these past few days!I have had a very fulfilling week in terms of social connection. I have been at one gathering or another almost every day some unexpected. One such unexpected connection came after I went to a play at the last minute a couple of nights ago and had the loveliest interaction with the performer during the show; it’s hard to explain without having to go into the performance, but she came up to me afterwards and said that she could just feel that I am a good person with a genuine heart and that I would be up for interacting with her, and we had a long chat. It was just so nice and a good reminder both that I can be spontaneous and that people see me as worth connecting with.
I also had some very high praise at work from multiple people. It’s clear that a lot of people believe in and think highly of me, but my brain tends to go into self critic overdrive in these situations still. I can tell that the biggest thing holding me back is my own perceptions of myself, which I find very frustrating but also I guess is empowering because it is something I can change. I am just impatient as to the pace! Increasingly I am realising that chasing connections in the hope that they will give me validation, as I have throughout my life, is just a recipe for failure; if I can find that value in myself, then the connections will happen naturally. Sounds easy in theory!! Practice, not so much…
Thanks for your reassuring comments about my acquaintance. I feel more okay with where things are at and am just trying to “let it be”. If I think about my close relationships, all have peaks and lulls but the important thing is they have developed naturally, as this will or won’t. In hindsight I think much of the interactions I have had with this person has been “fawning” related. See: https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/7-subtle-signs-your-trauma-response-is-people-pleasing for a useful article on this concept, if you’re interested. I’ve been learning more about it and it certainly helps to explain how I interact and react at times.
Hope you’re all coping okay during this Covid-19 panic. I have been worrying a bit about how my ex will cope.I know she’ll be anxious; her immune system is so bad that I think if she got it, it would be really serious. I perhaps unwisely sent her a message saying that I hope she’s doing okay, with all the hysteria around it, and to take care. While perhaps I shouldn’t have done that, I also recognise that it’s natural I care about her; I just musn’t let it become an excuse to keep in touch with her or to see her. I can imagine that if we were still together, and if I was in the same mental space as I was in the relationship, I would be extremely anxious about it, and feel very bad that I wasn’t able to protect her; this would be unhealthy and unhelpful for us both. Good to have this hindsight – need to use it as motivation to keep looking forward.
Thanks for letting me muse, as usual. Take care, all! xx
March 10, 2020 at 2:16 am in reply to: Trying to deal with anxiety and loss after relationship break up #342584Adelaide1ParticipantHi ladies!
@shelbyville You have no idea how much I needed to read your kind words. Honestly, I have been feeling extremely stupid and weak the past couple of days. Reading what you wrote brought tears to my eyes and caused me to pause and recognise how far I have come for a moment. Thank you so much for taking the time to tell me that. It’s invaluable to read other people’s perceptions of you when you are feeling low on yourself, as you well know. I agree with Genie that you are way too harsh on yourself and you ARE making progress, even if it doesn’t feel like it. I know that feeling well, as I’ve just said!Re the career side of things, it sounds like you have an exciting opportunity to start anew. Scary, no doubt, but exciting!! The fact that you are even thinking about the positive opportunities it could lead to, including the possibility of meeting someone new, shows how far you have come. I felt so proud of you reading that!! I would at least go for the interview, then if you actually get offered it, you can think about it in more depth. I risked moving jobs about 6 months ago, moving from a permanent role to a one-year contract, and now I’m low-key freaking out about it not being renewed – but if I look past the anxiety, I am really glad I took it because I have found it so fulfilling. So I agree with Genie – whichever you think will make you happiest is the place to start.
Your reflections on contact with your ex sounds so familiar… I had the exact feeling after having contact with mine recently. It was really banal, and that cut, but as you say, normalised things also. Genie’s point about letting go makes sense to me, but I am not sure I am there myself, if I’m honest. I seem to do these things in stages of two steps forward, one step back… doing things I know are not good for me a few times, hurting, chastising myself, then eventually moving onto the next stage, and rinse and repeat! So… no judgement from me. If anything take comfort from knowing that even though I may seem to have things figured out in theory, I really don’t in practice! But the important thing is that I – you – we, keep trying. For example, I have not suggested to my ex that we meet up since I first posted in this thread, and I don’t think I will, and I couldn’t have imagined that when I first posted – thanks to all your support.
I really hope you feel less lost and like things are going more your way soon. Similar to what you said to me, I feel there is so much depth to you and I admire that so much. I really identified with you a few posts ago when you said you feel the world so deeply. Recently, I was saying to the friend who I have been talking about some of this stuff with, that feeling and loving deeply is something we should celebrate about ourselves. Lord knows the world needs it! But what I feel I I need to learn is how not to misplace such love and depth of feeling. And that is the really hard bit!
@genie – thank you too for your kind words. I feel anything but calm in myself, so reading that I am calming to others is really reassuring! I am so happy to read that you are going to meet up with Jay and have a heart-to-heart. You sound so resolute about it in your latest post. I am so proud of you for being so brave! Let us know how it goes, and know that whatever happens we will be here to support you.This is an extremely long post so I don’t blame any of you if you don’t read this far, but for myself… feeling weak and stupid… I have been feeling so, so anxious these past couple of days about my contact with this acquaintance of mine. We have not had much contact the past few days and it feels like she has distanced herself from me. The reason I feel stupid is that first of all, it’s hardly been two weeks since I have been having daily contact with this person and I have got myself into this state, and second, I can tell I have been clutching at straws and there is really nothing fulfilling about this connection, yet I still feel so needy. It is clear that I have placed totally unrealistic expectations on it and have transferred much of the same anxiety I felt in the relationship with my ex onto it.
It is also clear that she is not interested in genuinely getting to know me as I am her; at best I feel am someone she can feign vague interest in and have reassuring conversations with when she feels the need, and at worst I am nothing more than a self-esteem booster in terms of telling her she looks good – and sometimes she throws me flirty comments, but only in a superficial way. This is, as you can imagine, very unsatisfactory indeed.I am trying not to be too judgemental of her for doing this as it’s clear that she’s not in a good headspace herself – she told me yesterday for example that she took the day off for mental health reasons. Either way, I need to let go of the fantasy that things will progress to anything, stop contact and wish her well, for both our sakes.
As I was saying when ranting to my friend about this (which was at least constructive), I need to remember that what I want from connections with people, romantic and otherwise, is a shared sense of intimacy. My ex was not able to give this to me, and neither is this person. So instead of going for the short, sharp dopamine hits superficial validation gives, I need to ask myself “is this connection building the sense of intimacy I want?” and if the answer is no – as it is resoundingly is in this case – I need to use that as a guide to move on and put my time and energy elsewhere. Very much easier said than done! But the right way to go I think…
Now that I have got all the reasons I feel weak and stupid out of my head…. I am also going to try be a little kind to myself. The fact that I tried to make this connection, and am fighting my instinct to hold onto the scraps when it is clearly not healthy, is a big step. The fact I recognise that I have fallen into familiar patterns, yet am trying to make a plan to change that, is positive. I feel like if I can keep taking chances like this, and learning each time, it will lead me to finding the love I deserve eventually. I hope?!?!
I have exhausted myself writing this out and probably exhausted you all reading it. Thank you, thank you, thank you for making this thread such a safe space. The fact that we can all connect and support each other through the highs and lows of life and love makes me feel so grateful. xx
March 7, 2020 at 1:01 pm in reply to: Trying to deal with anxiety and loss after relationship break up #342038Adelaide1ParticipantHey @genie. Sorry you are feeling so lonely girl. Don’t feel stupid. Like you say, better said here than to him. I think your answer lies in the last post where you say that you can’t control everything and just have to be patient. I know that that’s hard to deal with when you are feeling particularly anxious; I find it almost impossible, but it’s true. I think you are doing very well by choosing to clarify your thoughts here before taking any action with him; that in itself is choosing not to give in to anxiety. Are you guys seeing each other in person at the moment? Maybe when you organise to meet up next time you can ask him if he’d be willing to chat about where you’re both at, that way he has a heads up that it’s coming. Make it clear that it doesn’t have to be a totally ‘reveal all’ discussion, that you just want to check in because you really like him. And also that if he needs more time that’s fine too, that you appreciate the patience he has shown you and you are willing to do the same. Only you know whether doing something like that would work as you know yourself, him, and your relationship better than I do… but it does seem to me that some kind of conversation needs to happen as anxiety inducing as that prospect is.
Thanks for your advice re this new person I am talking to. You are right, of course. Hookups and getting short buzzes from flirting is more damaging in the long run. I don’t want that really, I want intimacy and that’s different. We’ve kept chatting and have got into some deeper conversations as of late. I told her that I am trying really hard to be more vulnerable and authentic in the connections I form with people even though that’s scary, and she responded well. I don’t know if it will eventuate into anything but I do enjoy talking to her. It’s clear that she has her own anxieties and baggage as I do but she promised to always be honest about where she and her feelings are at. So we will see… personally I am proud of myself for putting myself out there again even though it may well lead to more hurt in the long run and acknowledging I still have work to do to find validation in myself rather than seeking it from others.
I hope tomorrow is a better day for you. I would say that the “old Genie” is still there and still strong, she’s just had a knock and is hiding at the moment. She’ll be coaxed out with time, patience, and kindness. Always here if you need an ear!
March 3, 2020 at 2:14 am in reply to: Trying to deal with anxiety and loss after relationship break up #341074Adelaide1Participant@genie, my dear. There are a lot of “what ifs” there! Seems like you are in an anxiety spiral which is the worst feeling, I know. Try to breathe and identify how the anxiety you are feeling is distorting your thinking. Then try to counter it with a more realistic interpretation. Unfortunately any reassurance any of us offer you in countering such thoughts won’t last… I know this from experience, and really wish it did! So instead just try to breathe, sit with it, identify the catastrophising thoughts but remember they are not facts and trust it will decline naturally. xx
Some slightly interesting developments on my end. An acquaintance got in touch with me and we have been having message conversations quite steadily over the last week, some flirtatious. On Friday I got quite drunk and things got particularly flirtatious. If we were in the same town I probably would have suggested we hook up but we’re not. I have got a buzz from these interactions, of course, particularly because my ex was not really the type to flirt so explicitly, and I’m not particularly used to such attention. But as suspected it’s caused anxiety as well and I can already tell that I am ‘chasing’ something not all that fulfilling and am already fantasising about things that are unlikely to happen, all in pursuit of some kind of external validation I suppose.
to be honest with myself… If it was a friend of mine and I saw the conversations we were having, I’d conclude by in large that they are not exactly interesting and that I am selling myself short just because someone has vaguely expressed interest in me. So I’m just disappointed in myself really. All comes down to that pesky old lack of self worth again….
On a sidenote my ex also finally replied to a message from a couple of weeks ago; nothing really interesting. I have been thinking of her a lot less over the past week because I have been distracted by this new anxious attachment. Oh dear… sometimes I just have to laugh at myself – the patterns are so familiar. I suppose at least I can recognise them! Being a human is hard…
February 25, 2020 at 9:28 am in reply to: Trying to deal with anxiety and loss after relationship break up #339932Adelaide1ParticipantHey @Michelle, nice to hear from you! Your travels sound great as usual. Do you have a ‘home base’ as it were? Your lifestyle, always on the move sounds invigorating for sure.
Thanks for your thoughts on learning and action and your encouragement to keep going. I need it today. I think I have reached the stage where I miss the idea of a partner more than my ex specifically. This is positive in that I am less and less tempted to reach out but also very anxiety provoking in that I worry a lot about never being loved romantically. I just feel very unloveable some days. But I know that is ultimately coming from a place of seeking external validation and a lack of self esteem, so I need to keep reminding myself that the answer lies in building my self worth, while also pushing myself out my comfort zone. I also just started my period, so that could account for a lot of my feelings, to be honest!
I also still think about her a lot and it’s really annoying to me. The other night I dreamed about her and it was upsetting because I am sick of my brain fantasising. I just want to move on with my life but I guess that’s not how it works!
On top of the attachment style stuff, I have been reading a lot about codependency and it has been quite helpful. I definitely have many codependent traits – for example, a large amount of internalised shame, weak sense of self, and heavily relying on others as my main source of validation. The book “Codependency For Dummies” has been quite insightful if anyone else is interested. This unrelated but relevant quote I came across essentially sums up overcoming codependency:
“Finding yourself” is not really how it works. You aren’t a ten-dollar bill in last winter’s coat pocket. You are also not lost. Your true self is right there, buried under cultural conditioning, other people’s opinions, and inaccurate conclusions you drew as a kid that became your beliefs about who you are. “Finding yourself” is actually returning to yourself. An unlearning, an excavation, a remembering who you were before the world got its hands on you.”
On the one hand I feel like this unlearning is insurmountable, but on the other I am excited by the prospect. Like I have the power to ultimately change how I feel about myself, act, react and form relationships for the rest of my life – for the better.
Despite feeling unloveable and a bit down I have continued to connect with people in a more authentic way than I did before this “failed” relationship, and I’m proud of that. An example is reaching out to an ex colleague/friend who is having their own anxious/avoidant attachment issues and sharing a lot about my own experiences as of late, as well as coaching him. Our friendship has become closer as a result and I have been able to be very vulnerable with him quite comfortably and vice versa.He said I have really helped him find the courage to talk about these issues without feeling like a loser and motivated him to start making changes. He has also been good at reassuring me that he’s sure I’ll find love again.
I have also made an effort to get involved in a volunteer programme one evening a week and through that am getting to know some lovely people, and have gone to a couple of other gatherings which likewise I have very much enjoyed. Whereas when I was in a relationship my ex was totally the centre of my world and I didn’t put effort into much else. Basically, I do like the person I am becoming post this relationship. I just hope it leads to something relationship-wise eventually! Sometimes I really wish that it was easier for me to connect with people on a superficial level i.e be seen as desirable enough for random hookups… but then I ask myself, do I really want a quantity of hollow connections over quality ones? And the answer is probably not, but the physical intimacy would be nice in some ways.
@genie glad you are doing better! Great Jay has reached out and you are back on track. All we can do is learn from our mistakes and keep trying to do better.Til next time… x
February 21, 2020 at 12:36 pm in reply to: Trying to deal with anxiety and loss after relationship break up #339354Adelaide1Participant@Genie sorry to hear you are having such a rough day. I know the exact feeling you are describing and it is sooo gripping. Shelby has given some good advice. We are all human, we all make mistakes, but anxiety makes us think that they are irreversible and that the way we are feeling is how we will always feel. This isn’t true, even though it feels like it is.
For now, I would just work on acknowledging and accepting what you are feeling. It is so tempting to want to reach out and try to ‘fix’ things when we are in this state but I agree with Shelby that that it may be best to just focus on yourself for now.Remember that a lot of what the intensity of what you are feeling is chemically driven and will decrease naturally over time. You just have to be kind to yourself in the meantime. Do you have any self care rituals that make you feel better – a bath, a favourite tv show, a favourite food?
Like Shelby said, try not to beat yourself up. Even though it may feel like this is a massive step back, it doesn’t detract from all the progress you’ve made til this point; progress isn’t linear. The fact that you are even trying in a new relationship is something to be admired. And regardless of what happens, you are such a kind and encouraging person and nothing can take that from you. You have been so lovely to me throughout this thread – so I think you’re great even if you don’t right now!
Hoping things get better from here. As you’d say to me ‘keep going chick, you’re doing amazing!’
February 18, 2020 at 9:37 am in reply to: Trying to deal with anxiety and loss after relationship break up #338860Adelaide1Participant@genie Thanks, lovely! I am so glad that things are working out with your new boyfriend. He sounds like the security you need and you deserve it!
“Can you imagine what being with the right person will feel like if the wrong person made us think we found real love? It will be much more amazing. I want to be happy and only I can make myself happy so I have continued to push through.”
This is so true. I clearly have some more work to do before I get to that point but it will be worth it.
Your reflections on having an avoidant partner rang true too. I distinctly remember one time, being awake crying while she slept next to me because she was so cold after being affectionate the last time she stayed over and thinking “a relationship shouldn’t feel like this”. Yet, instead of cutting my losses it only made me try harder, as us anxious types do! It makes me sad that I allowed a relationship to make me feel that way, but like you, determined to learn from it and try harder.
I found this article insightful and others may too:https://psychcentral.com/lib/how-to-change-your-attachment-style/ Especially this part:
“Moreover, anxious types tend to bond quickly and don’t take time to assess whether their partner can or wants to meet their needs. They tend to see things they share in common with each new, idealized partner and overlook potential problems. In trying to make the relationship work, they suppress their needs, sending the wrong signals to their partner in the long run. All of this behavior makes attaching to an avoider more probable. When he or she withdraws, their anxiety is aroused. Pursuers confuse their longing and anxiety for love rather than realizing it’s their partner’s unavailability that is the problem. It’s not themselves or anything they did or could do to change that. They hang in and try harder, instead of facing the truth and cutting their losses.”
I know that the solution lies in making myself more secure, and seeking secure relationships. Easier said than done but I want to really try. My next partner deserves a better version of myself. Pats on the back to all of us, for continuing to put in the work and strive for better even when sometimes it feels like nothing changes, and the path to happiness seems insurmountable. Being a human is hard, but we’re trying! Appreciate the encouragement and chance to get my thoughts down here as usual.
February 17, 2020 at 2:02 am in reply to: Trying to deal with anxiety and loss after relationship break up #338672Adelaide1Participant@shelby Thank you for the birthday wishes!! I hope you enjoyed your mini break. My heart goes out to you reading your latest post. I know that feeling of tiredness so well. Not just in regards to heartbreak but just trying to navigate life day in and day out, and feeling like I’m getting nowhere. I sure hope this latest blip passes and you are feeling more optimistic soon! How is it that every time we are in these mindsets it feels endless even though from experience it isn’t? The brain is such a fickle thing.
@genie thanks for your continued encouragement! I hope you are doing well yourself?Today is one of those days I wish I didn’t know what love – and heartbreak- was like. Woke up with a ball of anxiety in my stomach and had to give myself a pep talk of sorts just to get out of bed.
While it’s true I didn’t feel the need to engage as much with my ex last time we talked,it’s the classic pattern where she has not replied to my latest message for a week now and it’s made me feel very bad. I don’t even know why I care, after all I have already committed to not reach out to her (as in send the first message). I guess I just don’t understand why she would not reply when she prompted the conversation.
But it was like this in our relationship too… she just wouldn’t reply while we were in the middle of a conversation and sometimes it was really hurtful. Like one time I sent her a very heartfelt message at the start of a week long trip, after we’d had quite a deep conversation the night before, and she saw it and didn’t reply for several hours. I got so anxious I messaged her again and said I was sorry if the message was too full on. She eventually replied and didn’t even address most of the message which was hurtful to me cos I had made myself quite vulnerable in sending it. It used to drive me crazy, really. Now I have looked into attachment styles, she definitely has avoidant tendencies – and me anxious (quite obviously!!). Anyway, I have been trying to tell myself that I deserve someone who is responsive when I am vulnerable, but mostly I am just angry at myself cos I have got myself into this pattern AGAIN, and I have to wonder why it’s taking my brain so long to learn that no, it won’t be different this time. Chemicals, I guess?!
Anyway, on the plus side I got up and put on a new dress and got heaps of compliments about it, so I felt good about that, and as my therapist says, sometimes you just have to put yourself to bed early… so bring on the sleep!
Take care all. xx
February 13, 2020 at 9:51 am in reply to: Trying to deal with anxiety and loss after relationship break up #337980Adelaide1Participant@Sarah Really empathise with you! Hope things have gotten a little easier day by day. I found it encouraging that you talk about the fact you got over your first heartbreak, even though you’re back there again. You’ll get over this one too – you’ve done it before! The thread is so helpful eh? I find myself coming back to it on bad days.
Hope you are all doing okay. I’m thinking about Valentines Day… it’s silly that a random made-up day can affect one’s emotions eh. But trying to be kind to myself and acknowledge that it is expected that I feel a bit sad about it.
I came across a quote that others may relate to, too:“You can be the whole package and still end up at the wrong address. When this happens, the receiver will mishandle you because 1, they don’t know what to do with you and 2, they weren’t meant to have you in the first place.”
Here’s to us all finding the right address!
Apart from the Valentines Day sadness I generally feel I am continuing to make progress. I ended up exchanging a few messages with my ex post birthday after she initiated conversation but I definitely didn’t feel as compelled to engage or suggest that we meet up. Putting myself out there again feels incredibly daunting still though, so I think I will just continue to focus on friends for now.
Take care all. Xo
February 6, 2020 at 2:28 am in reply to: Trying to deal with anxiety and loss after relationship break up #336882Adelaide1ParticipantThanks so much @genie and @michelle for your birthday wishes! I had a lovely day with my housemates and a couple of friends. Lots of good eating and heartfelt wishes! I find birthdays in the social media age a bit overwhelming so I turned off my notifications which was good cos it also meant I did not ruminate about my ex contacting me too much. She did – a really nice, quite substantive message. I resisted the urge to type a paragraph back and just thanked her. I felt how I expected after seeing it… momentarily good but also sad about how I what it may have been like spending it with her, if we were still together – in an alternate universe.
The good thing is that, despite the sadness, I didn’t really feel the need to suggest meeting up this time as like you say, I know it’s not the right relationship for me. I’ll celebrate this as progress! I also met up with a friend for dinner soon after I saw it so I didn’t dwell too much. Chatting to my friend about it was really nice – about a year ago she split up with her partner of 15 years, so had some good advice and was reassuring about my progress. We talked about the importance of self kindness on hard days and making the most of the good ones. Again, a fulfilling conversation I am not sure I’d have had without this experience.
Now just need to focus on being kind to myself, continuing to build up my existing friendships and making new connections. Overall, I am feeling positive about this. Thank you again for your kindness and advice! You really, really have and do help me, and one day when I am a bit further on in the process I hope I can do the same
@Michelle I will definitely share more about travel in another post soon. Your traveling lifestyle sounds wonderful!February 4, 2020 at 2:22 am in reply to: Trying to deal with anxiety and loss after relationship break up #336566Adelaide1ParticipantThanks for your gentle, on point advice! I am in a much calmer state of mind tonight and I earlier was basically telling myself the same things you wrote. Letting my birthday – the one day of the year that we can be as self indulgent as we like – be defined by whether or not I get a message from her is ridiculous.
I have been reflecting on how many risks I have taken since my last birthday. I took big risks with both my living situation and my job and they have worked out beyond my wildest dreams. Last birthday I could have never imagined those aspects of my life being so good. Last birthday I couldn’t imagine falling in love. But they are, and I did. All of these things were wildly unexpected, and while the love one hasn’t worked out, I am so glad I took that risk. In this moment it feels like a gift – because I have been given an insight into what love is like, but also been given an opportunity to use it to find something better. I laugh at myself in these moments, because I sound like a different person when I am anxious and when I’m not, and I feel like one too – shows the power of the anxious mind! I know the the anxiety and sadness will return and I will doubt ever believing this. But here I am writing it down and positing it, so it must be. 🙂
Here’s to birthday celebrations and appreciating the good people and things in my life. There are so many! Thank you for being so kind and supportive. I really appreciate you. X
- This reply was modified 4 years, 10 months ago by Adelaide1.
February 2, 2020 at 2:02 am in reply to: Trying to deal with anxiety and loss after relationship break up #336266Adelaide1Participant@genie Thanks for your affirmation! My disability does define me in a lot of ways, but not in a negative way – it has shaped how I exist and interact with the world – what doesn’t define me but what I still let define me is people’s negative reactions to it which I have internalised. And that is not surprising given societal attitudes towards it; I mean there is a show featuring disabled people going on dates called “the Undateables” for gods sake. But I feel determined to let go of that shame. I deserve to value myself – other people’s perceptions are not my problem. Easier said than done, but working on it!
I had another lovely catch up with a close friend today. We spent a lot of time talking about relationships and anxiety. We are similar personality wise and relationship experience wise so it was particularly comforting. She told me she is definitely doing a speech at my wedding recounting these conversations. Ha, we’ll see!
I have been ruminating a lot today about whether or not my ex will contact me on my birthday later this week – imagining her not doing so and how hurtful that will feel. I’m not sure why I care so much – I guess because I’m human and I’d like to think she cares enough about me to make the effort to do that. There’s nothing to suggest she won’t, but also if she does I am not sure what I am expecting out of such an interaction. The temptation would be to suggest we meet up again but as I’ve already established that makes me feel worse, so why bother. I know it’s mostly the anticipation of it more than the contact itself, but there is no rationalising myself out of it. Brains… so weird.
Things are objectively a lot better than they were when I posted here almost three weeks ago. And yet, sometimes, like now, I still feel so sad that things didn’t work out and like I will never find love. I guess there’s nothing to do in such times then just sit with the sadness and know it will pass…
I saw this quote a few weeks ago and come back to it often
Life will break you. Nobody can protect you from that, and living alone won’t either, for solitude will also break you with its yearning. You have to love. You have to feel. It is the reason you are here on earth. You are here to risk your heart. You are here to be swallowed up. And when it happens that you are broken, or betrayed, or left, or hurt, or death brushes near, let yourself sit by an apple tree and listen to the apples falling all around you in heaps, wasting their sweetness. Tell yourself you tasted as many as you could.
Someone reading may find comfort in it too. Hope you all have a good weekend!
January 31, 2020 at 2:40 am in reply to: Trying to deal with anxiety and loss after relationship break up #335964Adelaide1Participant@genie – thanks for your kind words and acknowledgement that just because my relationship was short doesn’t mean it wasn’t meaningful. Tbh I feel like I am fumbling along but I really appreciate your pep talks!
@Shelby – the rose coloured glasses are really something huh. But it’s good you’re open to being reminded of the uglier bits. I’m sorry to hear about your work stress and the anxiety of losing the key! Such a thing would make me super anxious too. I hope you are able to get some relaxation in this weekend?? The fact you still look for gratitude despite feeling like absolute sh*t at times says a lot about your strength of character. I salute you! One thing I am grateful for for sure is you starting this thread! Thinking of you and hoping you are able to get in some self care this weekend xAnd as for I don’t want to jinx it but I really feel like this week has been a turning point in a positive way for me, despite being stressful.
Couple of ‘aha’ moments – got a call that my dad was in hospital with potential heart issues (luckily it was just a scare and he’s recovering at home now), and instinctively wanted to reach out to my ex for comfort. But it felt more… intellectual… this time. Like, while the idea still appealed, the reality has sunk in that I knew it would make me feel worse and that I could seek support elsewhere. So I avoided that entirely and talked to my housemates instead which was lovely. Not having such a gripping need for contact and support from her feels empowering..
Other one is, I have been trying extra hard to reach out to people in the spirit of remaining open to connection, instead of using it as an excuse to close myself off which is very very tempting – as a protective approach.
So… My brother, who lives overseas, and I live very seperate lives. I hadn’t talked to him in a very long time, but he messaged me about our dad. Usually the conversation would have been short and mechanical but this time I made the effort to ask him how his counselling is going (he told my parents over Christmas he was seeking it for anxiety). I explained I am struggling with it too. We ended up having a conversation about how it affects both of us, and I also told him about my break up, and came out to him in the process because I used the word ‘she’! Conversation ended with an agreement we are always here for one another despite not keeping in touch much and we should talk more. Deepest conversation we have had in years…
Second… On Monday I reached out to an acquaintance after she peer reviewed some work of mine – we don’t work for the same organisation but in the same field and she has just started a new job in an organisation I used to work for. Prior to being proactive about this post breakup my social anxiety would have stopped me from doing such a thing. We met up today and really, we hit it off so well that at the end I told her I feel like I’d known her for years – after 45 mins. We both shared mutual experiences I would usually take months to tell people about. It was really surreal, the instant connection and bond, Not in like a romantic way – I don’t even know if she is into women – just in a deeply human way. But also it’s the first time I have felt such an instant connection since meeting my ex it is nice to prove to myself that such a thing is possible!
I was reflecting afterwards about how when my ex told me that she was ultimately content with being solitary and didn’t generally see the need to seek connection from others (e.g she said to me a couple of times that she would be quite happy to live by herself in a remote place) I felt jealous for awhile. I have always been one to want to be around and get to know people deeply, and often wish I was more content on being alone because opening yourself up can lead to such pain, as it has with her. But this week has confirmed to me that I would rather seek connection and risk being hurt than not reach out at all. And I’m proud of myself for using this as an experience to be vulnerable, really. I am trying not to daydream about this potential new friendship too much but I do hope we meet again soon!
Anyway, have rambled enough. Don’t get me wrong, I have had my sad times this week. But I think for the first time in more than a year I can see a way out of this deep depressive hole I’ve been in, and see myself being able to move on from my ex. So celebrations definitely in order! If you got this far, thanks for reading. Happy weekend. Xxx
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