B
Blackcrowe
Hi all, I am 23 and most likely have cptsd from growing up in a pretty neglectful and dysfunctional home.
I met my current boyfriend about 5 months ago on a dating app. I decided to take things pretty slow with him so we weren’t officially boyfriend/girlfriend until a month ago. A few days ago we were at his house fooling around a bit, and I was trying to get him to talk dirty to me, and I was asking him about what he was thinking and feeling in the moment. And that’s when the I love you came up.
Initially I froze, and then I started shaking and crying. I was totally not expecting it and was kinda freaked out. He’s a lovely guy and I could see us having something more serious but I just wasn’t expecting him to be thinking along that line just yet. I also think that I’ve dissociated love from sex to a degree that I really don’t like and hearing that while doing something sexual really brought that home for me.
Also, I was with my previous boyfriend for a year and said I love you on multiple occasions and he would just not respond to it. What would happen is something like he would give me a ride to work and we would hug and kiss goodbye and it would just come out. He said that he wouldn’t say it to anyone unless they were engaged. Which is fine but he was also not empathic about how much it might hurt to say that and have the other person not respond (he had a general tendency of lacking empathy and this showed up throughout the relationship).
I also realize that I have now done something similar with my current boyfriend and I feel really bad about that. It’s not that I would never want to I just need more time for it to feel right to say.
As I was lying next to him, crying into his shoulder, I just felt like a tiny baby. And what was worse was how alone I felt. I felt like I couldn’t connect with anyone, like I was entirely, surely alone. This happened on sunday and the last few days have been rough.
I’m slipping into some destructive coping mechanisms (binging food and/or alcohol). I’m also upset because I feel like I can’t tell what my feelings are towards him. I think I’m just so wrapped up in the other emotions that I’m processing that maybe that’s on the back burner for a bit. I feel really frustrated that I’m having such a massive response to this. I’ve barely been able to think or do anything useful the last few days.
Any advice or thoughts or just sharing of similar experiences would be appreciated.
Also, for some extra context, he’s Indian and I’m American
I met my current boyfriend about 5 months ago on a dating app. I decided to take things pretty slow with him so we weren’t officially boyfriend/girlfriend until a month ago. A few days ago we were at his house fooling around a bit, and I was trying to get him to talk dirty to me, and I was asking him about what he was thinking and feeling in the moment. And that’s when the I love you came up.
Initially I froze, and then I started shaking and crying. I was totally not expecting it and was kinda freaked out. He’s a lovely guy and I could see us having something more serious but I just wasn’t expecting him to be thinking along that line just yet. I also think that I’ve dissociated love from sex to a degree that I really don’t like and hearing that while doing something sexual really brought that home for me.
Also, I was with my previous boyfriend for a year and said I love you on multiple occasions and he would just not respond to it. What would happen is something like he would give me a ride to work and we would hug and kiss goodbye and it would just come out. He said that he wouldn’t say it to anyone unless they were engaged. Which is fine but he was also not empathic about how much it might hurt to say that and have the other person not respond (he had a general tendency of lacking empathy and this showed up throughout the relationship).
I also realize that I have now done something similar with my current boyfriend and I feel really bad about that. It’s not that I would never want to I just need more time for it to feel right to say.
As I was lying next to him, crying into his shoulder, I just felt like a tiny baby. And what was worse was how alone I felt. I felt like I couldn’t connect with anyone, like I was entirely, surely alone. This happened on sunday and the last few days have been rough.
I’m slipping into some destructive coping mechanisms (binging food and/or alcohol). I’m also upset because I feel like I can’t tell what my feelings are towards him. I think I’m just so wrapped up in the other emotions that I’m processing that maybe that’s on the back burner for a bit. I feel really frustrated that I’m having such a massive response to this. I’ve barely been able to think or do anything useful the last few days.
Any advice or thoughts or just sharing of similar experiences would be appreciated.
Also, for some extra context, he’s Indian and I’m American
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