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My Boyfriend is going through an identity crises

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  • #222297
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Dear Ladybug:

    What I brought up in my previous post was a thought, doesn’t seem like anything to be looked at further. There is no relationship in a man’s life more powerful than his childhood relationship with the parent most present in his life, usually the mother.

    This early relationship leads the way to a man’s relationships with women. In June you wrote this about your boyfriend’s mother and his experience with her:

    “she is the type of woman that loves to play the victim or loves to be the centre of attention and loves to feel pitied”-  reminds me how distant your boyfriend became when you were depressed and desperate, texting him fifty times or so.

    “in return she throws horrible passive aggressive comments like daggers and sugar coats it with a smile or laugh”- unlike his mother, you are not passive-aggressive with him, never.

    “(she) kicked him out of the house many times… used to shout and swear when he got homework wrong. She used to scream with so much anger that saliva would come from her mouth”- unlike his mother you are never aggressive with him. Even though at times you feel anger, you do not express it against him by aggressive behavior. Unlike his experience with his mother, he has safety with you, predictability. This may have led to his recent question: “you going to love me forever?”

    “he has been programmed by his mother’s aggression at a young age that there’s horrible repercussions to failing” – again, no aggressive repercussions from you for anything.

    “he has moved to 7 different schools and about 20 different homes. His mother has significantly caused inconsistency in his life”- consistency is what he needs and you are providing this for him.

    “She pretends to be caring and giving but its only her amo to later use against (him)”- right here is why there must not be any aggression in the relationship with him, none at all, no matter what. It will take only once for him to lose all the benefit of your consistency before that one time. He must trust you to continue loving him, to continue to provide the safety he so desperately needs. Notice his recent question to you, “you going to love me forever?”- he is beginning to believe, that unlike his mother, you are not pretending, you will not turn against him later on.

    What you are practicing with him, non-aggression, is possible and needed in every supposedly loving relationship. Seems like most people believe there has to be some aggression, fighting, arguing, that it is normal. But it is not true, relationship can be safe, non-aggressive and should be. This practice will make you a wonderful mother, never aggressive with her children.

    What you practice with him is most valuable for you in your current and future relationship and it is most valuable for him. He is so very fortunate whether he knows it at any one time, or not.

    Regarding your fears, I hope you continue to contain them, and that they will lessen because in practice, you really are doing what is right and effective in minimizing the chances of what you fear. I think he is getting to value very much what you offer him, what is so rare in the world, and that is love without the interruptions of occasional aggression. In my life I call it the “zero aggression policy”.

    anita

    #222663
    Ladybug
    Participant

    That makes alot of sense, i also think theres some immaturity that played a part because when we were beginning to get more serious and we hit our fist big hurdle in our relationship… He practically ran and wanted the single life despite what happened to me. He couldnt keep up with the responsibilities and i at the time put alot of pressure on him and he just bailed on everything.

     

    But now that we are doing much better and our relationship is in a good place, i cant understand why he has such a low sex drive. We’ve spoken a little about it and he said he wants to start discovering sex with me again from the beginning starting with all the little basic and try and rejuvenate his libido. Im being patient because he does feel crap that hes sex drive is so low. He useto be very big on sex and he always had a much higher sex drive than me but that seems to have just died down. He liked watching porn and masturbating, and loved being intimate with me. but now we are lucky if we have sex once a week. This worries me cause he always said sex is important in a relationship and now hes battling getting in the mood. Is there anything i can do to motivate his sex drive?

    #222677
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Dear Ladybug:

    It could be the fight, preparing for the fight, the physical and mental stress, his physical pain that you mentioned, then the fight happened only a couple of weeks ago, or so. He is probably still recovering from the physical and mental strain and that can explain his significantly lower sex drive.

    I would suggest that you don’t panic, that you give it time. I am thinking the worst a woman can do is to pressure a man to have more sex. And he responds badly to any pressure (“I at the time put a lot of pressure on him and he just bailed on everything”, you wrote in your most recent post).

    I would say, don’t pressure, don’t suggest, let it be, and when it does happen, enjoy the experience.

    anita

    #222685
    maggie mac
    Participant

    If you have another place to sleep you could not sleep with him. Stop cuddling with him and really act like you are on a break. He needs to see what it feels like without your emotional contact. As long as he is getting that he is happy. You have to make him feel what it would be like if you were not in his life. Don’t be mean but be cool and just polite.

    You say he checks on you when he feels like you pull away. So this means he doesn’t like it when you don’t give him your emotional energy. So make him feel it so he can come to a decision about you.

    #222813
    Ladybug
    Participant

    Hes very focused on building his financial struggle up, hes decided to be a personal trainer, his going to do some modelling now and he might be coaching part time at our gym as well as online English teaching. I love that his growing his ambition and goals. I of coarse am a little concerned about him not having time for me and for us. but if i want us to work long term i have to grow with him before he outgrows me. This may be harsh and a horrible things for me thing for me to be thinking but its very possible. He has told me before that love bubbles him in and makes him lose focus on his goals, So on one hand things are progressing between us as we balance out our day to day lives but i feel i should focus on building hobbies outside our relationship because he feels very boxed in and guilty to do things without me. I dont really have close friends anymore and im very picky with who i surround myself with. Hes my best friend but i dont want to limit him in anyway even though its very hard and i still hold alot of  pain because of what happened 2 months ago. We havent had any conversation about the break or gotten any closure and i feel myself becoming a little dependent on him because of the insecurities i have and the fears that i hold inside. He doesnt know how much the break damaged me and i dont want him to see me as weak or needy. Its difficult to juggle my unresolved pain and progress in my self growth. but ill take it one day at a time.

     

    He wants to go hiking with his friend on sunday and i got a little disappointed because he told me he would take me to this specific place to hike and ive asked him to plan a romantic date and its been 2 weeks and ive still not been taking on that date, i told him id be happy if he just plans something romantic at home but for the last 2 nights his little sister has been sleeping over at our place so we havent had much opportunity to be alone at the right time to have a good heart to heart conversation.

    I cant tell if he wants to grow a life with me or if hes just building his own life and theres a good chance once his doing better he will flake on me again.

    #222825
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Dear Ladybug:

    Time is approaching that needed “good heart to heart conversation”. Placing myself in your shoes best I can, based on our communication, this is what I would say to him and/ or type for him to read:

    (Boyfriend’s name), I want to share my thoughts and feelings with you. Then I want you to take your time and let it sink in, take the time to process it and get back to me with your thoughts and feeling when you are ready, anytime in the next few weeks or a month.

    I love you and that means I want what is best for you, but I want what is best for you. I also want what is best for me. I want our relationship to benefit both of us individually, to be a Win for me and a Win for you. The break in our relationship that you initiated benefited me in that I learned to take responsibility for my feelings, my needs and not expect you to make me feel this way or that way. I learned to not pressure you because pressure is not good for you, or for anyone, really. I learned that I need to be more independent, self reliant in our relationship and I want to keep at what I learned. My desire is to have a lifetime relationship with you, partners for life.

    What I need from you at this point, and please, do take your time, is to know your thoughts and feelings about our relationship, how it is right now, in your mind and heart, and how you see it in the future, if you do. I need to know this because I need the information, so I know what is going between us, so that I can figure out how to proceed.

    End of note. What do you think, Ladybug?

    anita

     

    #223177
    Ladybug
    Participant

    That sounds perfect, things have been running smooth recently. although his little sister is now also having trouble with their mom. As you know their mother is a nightmare and has put all her children through hell, his little sister went as far as slitting her wrist. Well my boyfriend and hes brother tried talking to thier mom to speak some sense in her but she just played victim and denied all the disruption and pain she has caused to their lives. So the last couple of knights his little sister has been staying over at our place. And my boyfriend has really tried stepping up to be there for his little sister, so his need to become financially stable has increased. I was sick all day yesterday and he took great care of me, he had to clean, cook as well as had his little sister stay over last night which was quite a busy day for him. I thanked him and showed great appreciation.

    #223191
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Dear Ladybug:

    It is wonderful that you “showed great appreciation” to your boyfriend for taking great care of you. From what you have shared and my understanding of people otherwise, I know that there is no possibility of success in “talking to their mom to speak some sense” to her. I suppose your boyfriend and his brother don’t know that yet, because they still tried.

    Maybe there is counseling available to his sister at the school she is attending, maybe her school counselor/s have information about resources that can help her, maybe even a place for her to live the remaining of her childhood away from her mother.

    If his brother also lives with the mother, maybe the same in regard to him.

    You wrote that your boyfriend’s “need to become financially stable has increased” as a result. I wonder about his plan to become financially stable. Is his plan to become financially stable a sensible plan, in your estimation, a good plan? I wonder if the plan depends on him winning more fights or is the fight he won recently enough to make it possible for him to become financially stable by being a personal trainer, a model, things you mentioned?

    Yesterday, before you posted your most recent post I re-read your posts pages 1-5. I sometimes do that in ongoing threads so to see what I can learn about the beginning posts using what I learned from later posts. Would you like me to process what I learn next and share it with you?

    anita

     

    #223347
    Ladybug
    Participant

    I think that every child who has had a rough relationship with a parent seeks the closure when they are adults. My boyfriend has many bad habits and little ticks that causes a reaction out of him which is not always pleasant but its all due to his childhood. He has had many inconsistency and he had to face things on his own and he finds comfort in not being responsible for anybody but himself, We were madly inlove and we were the perfect couple and he was always the one to progress and take the steps in our relationship so he wanted us to get this serious but he couldnt handle the responsibility of taking care of me in all aspects of our life living together. Things became routine and monotonous and we stopped being the young ambitious people we use to be. He lost his drive and the spark and became depressed  after his loss and it caused troubles in our relationship where i was overworked and resentful. We argued alot more than normal and he eventually just wanted to be single and there was nothing i could do to change his mind.

    #223349
    Ladybug
    Participant

    I’ve done quite a bit of research and some guys can’t make a woman their first priority until they have found themselves or achieved certain goals. I know he is the kinda guy who is very driven by success. It’s as if he’s career comes before anybody else on this earth. Recently he has had the realisation that the order of his life should be God, family then career and I hope he gets his life in order and realize I’m here to grow with him and not add weight onto his shoulders. The next couples months or even years he may not give me the type of effort and undevided focus and attention I’d like but I have to trust that he is working hard to create successful life for himself and for us and not make him feel guilty for it.

    #223441
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Dear Ladybug:

    Will you tell me more about what made you and him “the perfect couple”? That was before the first breakup last year, correct? How was life then with him, how was he like then, as the perfect boyfriend?

    I will be back to the computer in about sixteen hours.

    anita

    #223967
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Dear Ladybug:

    I am concerned about you. It is only within the last few days that I realize the extent of your focus on this man and this relationship, a focus so intense and so exclusive that there is nothing much happening in your mind and life outside this relationship. It occurred to me that all your efforts, including your efforts to appear independent, self sufficient, not desperate etc., are indeed efforts to appear those things. All aimed at keeping him as your boyfriend, and that you will do whatever it takes to achieve this aim: to keep him as your boyfriend.

    Problem is the prize is not worth your sacrifice. He is not that wonderful, not that powerful, not that promising so to be worth your sacrifices, your intense and exclusive focus on him.

    The title of your thread is “My Boyfriend is going through an identity crises”. It occurred to me only recently, that it is you who has been sacrificing your identity so to keep him in your life.  When you allowed it to be that you had sex with him while he avoided eye contact with you, you sacrificed a whole lot right there.

    I think that you attending good psychotherapy/ counseling, maybe attending Coda support groups, if such are available to you, is the thing for you to do.

    anita

    #224141
    Ladybug
    Participant

    He truly was going through an identity crises, he has so much fear and anxiety because of our relationship being so serious and our personal growth going nowhere, we both started clashing and becoming resentful and suddenly things were complicated and we weren’t doing very well as a couple nor as individual and he panicked because he couldn’t see himself stuck like this being incompetent and us arguing. He then just wanted to detach himself from everything. he felt like a failure because he was failing not only within himself and career but also failing me and our life together, he couldn’t handle the pressure and all that came was his fight or flight. I was so sure he was going to end things, he became someone i didnt know. I couldn’t believe someone who was suppose to love me could do what he did but some how he overcame his anxiety and slowly started moving closer to me, i told him many times he needs to distance himself from me if he no longer wants me in his life, i told him to stop texting me and stop trying to be nice to me and he couldn’t handle me ignoring him and he just started drawing even closure. I at that point felt like he no longer wanted the break and initiated that we end the break and be a couple again but he still hadnt gotten over his anxiety of commitment, providing for me and taking responsibility for our life together was something he had great fear for but somehow during that break he overcame his lazy habits, stepped out of his comfort zone, looked for ways to help his financial status and found his masculinity again. I truly think he behaved like a coward who does not deserve me for running away and abandoning me because he feared the responsibility but he day by day worked through it, i did help him alot and try to open his eyes to his actions and how hes behaving unreasonable. Well for the last 2 months things have gotten better and we are in a much better place that we were before even before the break, he respects me, he protects and cares for me, we have open communication and he has managed to get his sex drive back which has put him in a much better mood. Yes i do have some pain and anger for what he did but i have forgiven him so that i can heal, I am alot more cautious with my heart and we are still yet to talk about the break and really bury that horrible time in our relationship and that needs to happen in its right time. i am alot happier and so is he.

     

    It may seem that all my focus is on this relationship and him but i came to this forum for specific help with understanding the troubles in my relationship so i have only shared my in depth thoughts based on this particular matter. As well to get alot off my chest as this was an extremely difficult time in my life.

     

    To ensure this type of thing never happens again, i will need to have a conversation with him getting to the bottom of why he did it. By understanding his reasons and showing my support for how he felt i can get him to hear how he significantly hurt me. and from there i hope to get a promise that its not okay to do that and that he will do his very best not to have it happen again.

    #224155
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Dear Ladybug:

    I did think about the possibility that in this thread your focus was him and only him/ the relationship with him but that elsewhere you had more than him and the relationship on your mind.

    About the conversation you need to have with him, “to get to the bottom of why he did it”, I sure hope a series of conversations will make it clear to you, and to him. I hope he is able and willing to look into the reasons. I would initiate these conversations (I can’t imagine one conversation being adequate) in as casual, non alarming way as possible, gently, have conversations in small bite pieces.

    I think that you do deserve that “this type of thing never happens again”, that is, that you will never again, to be specific, have sex with a man who avoids eye contact with you… so to not make it personal. That you will never again live with a man who will withdraw from you for days at a time, still living with you, suggesting or threatening that a final break may or will happen next.

    Regarding “He truly was going through an identity crises”, what you shared about his life before you, his background, as well as reading about your past depression and behavior and my experience with life,  leads me to think that there will continue to be challenges, good times and difficult, distressing times.

    If you thought before that the relationship was perfect, it is because you didn’t know before the challenges that are there to confront. At times it felt perfectly good, but the problems were there and will have to be faced for a long time after this peculiar break is over.His troubles will come up again, and so will yours. Key is to work through the problems together as a team of two and not to withdraw like he did.

    “he couldn’t see himself stuck like this being incompetent and us arguing”- one thing to learn from this experience is to never argue again. Most people think it is impossible, but from personal experience I know it is possible and way, way preferable. It was, really wise of him to not “see himself stuck like this”, arguing. So talk, don’t argue, no aggression in the relationship of any kind at all.

    “for the last 2 months things have gotten better and we are in a much better place that we were before even before the break… I am a lot happier and so is he”- excellent. You sure did the best possible to do during this time to make it better than it was before!

    anita

    #224973
    Ladybug
    Participant

    Hi Anita,

    So although everything’s going good and ive seen some great changes in our relationship i am more aware now of how easy he gets it, i usually let him off the hook so easy when he doesnt stay true to his promises or cancels plans so he has become quite comfortable not putting in all that much effort so ive started asking more of what i want and making it clear when im disappointed, i do not pressure him or nag but i am less accepting of his lazy habits and instead of keeping quiet and picking up his slack i make it known what standard im willing to accept from him. I support him through all difficulties and like most dudes his gotten comfortable with not doing his part in the relationship and our life together. By being more stern and calmly vocal about how i feel regarding certain things it prevents me from building up unnecessary resentment and allows him the chance to put in the effort i deserve. i know deep down due to his inconsistent childhood and lack of stability he has commitment phobia, he hasn’t needed to take responsibility much his whole life other than of himself and thats why he is attached to being alone and working through life and challenges by himself. He really loves me but his phobia makes him avoident. An average person who is raised fairly well and has had the right influences around them would feel secure and grateful to have a relationship like our, a bond and connection that is so healthy and successful anybody in our shoes would start moving towards getting married and building a life together. But it frightens him being responsible for me (being someones partner in life comes with responsibilities and it scares him because he finds safety and security in being alone and only responsible for himself) he is not the usual kind of messed up where you its obvious to see, Hes childhood damage has been revealed to me only through the challenges of our relationship together, where most people dont usually have that much of an issue or emotional reaction, he is triggered and acts unreasonably due to pain and fear because of his past.

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