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Jack

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    I’d definitley say that I feel like I was emotionally neglected as a child. My house prioritised peace over solving conflicts, and my father was an incredibly emotionally absent person. I learned pretty quickly that any issues or emotional problems that I had were not going to be solved by him. So I learned not to talk about my emotions at all. If I ever did, I got the silent treatment, or I was treated like my feelings were too much. I was often gaslit to feel like I was crazy – my family is the type to prioritise peace over genuinely solving a conflict. It’s why I have communication issues to this day – I wasn’t raised with conflict-solving skills. It’s also why I’m unconfident with my emotions – they’ve never been validated I guess. I’ve had far more instances in my life where my emotions were “wrong” than “right”.

    Jack
    Participant

    Sorry for the delay in getting back to you, I’ve been sitting on the thought and discussing it with friends and my therapist.

    In a session with my therapist, we had a sit-down and discussed the pros and cons of a) reconciling with my ex, and b) exploring my options with other people.

    What I discovered is that there are healthy reasons that I want to reconcile with my ex. I think that there’s a great opportunity there for me to use what I’ve learned to be a more loving partner; to learn from my past and grow emotionally with someone I truly care about. I would love to learn to be more vulnerable and present and honest with someone, and I’d be happy do it with her.

    I also discovered that casual dating and sex isn’t something I really want. What I want is to feel self-actualised and part of a communtity. I believe that I thought casual dating and sex would be neccessarily intimate and connect me emotionally with more people. I think I inherently believe(d) that things like emotional intimacy can’t exist outside of a romantic or sexual relationships, and I don’t think that has to be true. I don’t want it to be true at least, and so I’m going to try and live more intimately and in community, as I think I am lacking that a great deal.

    To that end, I do not want to casually date or have casual sex with anybody. I think I know that.

    So I think I do want to get back with my ex. I still hesitate – I hesitate with all huge decisions I make partly out of a fear of what I don’t know, or a fear that all of my feelings are incorrect and I will make a wrong decision.

    All I know for sure – what I am absolutely certain of – is that I want to be the type of person who has self-love. Where love comes first from me, and then others. In my relationship with my ex, it was quite codependent. I gave up many of my hobbies, stopped trying new things, stopped trying so much with my friends. I spent a lot of time caring for her (even though she didn’t ask). When she was sad, it made me sad. When she was happy, it made me happy. I didn’t exist outside or seperately from her. If we try things again, THAT has to be different. Love has to be mine for myself first.

    I know that is possible for me to strive for single. I think it’s also possible for me to grow like that in a relationship too. So I just have to decide on one thing now – do I want to be back with my ex at all?

    Jack
    Participant

    Hey Anita,

    I would say that the feeling of guilt is definitley present. The scenario I described – breaking up on a gut feeling. I feel like I ran away from my ex because I was feeling so anxious, and I definitley left her in a bad place. I did not communicate my feelings well, and for her, she had the rug pulled out from under her. I feel guilty about that, and wish I could’ve been more in touch with how I felt, and that I felt more confident in communicating my feelings so as to work out these emotions. It would not have guaranteed anything would’ve ended differently, but I feel it would’ve been a more mature ending.

    I’d also say that yes I am feeling nostalgic too. It feels impossible not to compare how my life is now to how it was when were at our best. I miss all of the things we had together, from the big future we both had envisioned, to the little love languages and mannerisms that only we shared. I never viewed this feeling through the lens of being nostalgic before, but I’d say that’s what it is. I miss our best times together.

    In your opinion, what are right reasons to rekindle things?

    I don’t know whether or not I’d feel resentment if I didn’t explore new experiences. It’s difficult to predict. It’s something I used to think about when we were together.

    Slowing down is probably an excellent idea. I’ve placed a sense of urgency on myself to figure things out. I feel like as time goes by, we seperate further and further, and I don’t want to make a decision to late.

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