SubtleHush(sub female)
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3 years ago •
Sep 26, 2021
3 years ago •
Sep 26, 2021
Gosh so much to say. Short answer...
It all hurts and it takes time to unpack how you find yourself in those situations. In the end, you are either protecting your feelings in a healthy and positive way by confidently declining the wrong opportunities or adding to the pain you end up with. Sucks I know.
The longer answer. So you don't have to read if you don't want to.
Hurt is your friend.
It took me many years to work that out but it goes like this. You make choices that put you in situations that ultimately cause you emotional pain. Hopefully, at some point, you realize that the pain isn't worth the choice and you learn to choose better. And you don't choose again until you are clear on that. After a lot of my own pain, I developed deal-breakers and must-haves, and anything, anything, that didn't fall into the right group was declined. So no drugs is a deal-breaker of mine, if I am talking to someone who is drug friendly, I shut it down. We aren't friends, chat buddies, or anything else. You don't get into my world because you represent a deal-breaker. No excuses, exceptions, or lying to myself. (I should say no judgment either. But the reality is we are not compatible.)
Stop filling in the blanks.
If someone makes a promise you already know is very unlikely for them, or out of bounds for you, don't rewrite it in your mind. If you know that most guys who cheat offer to leave their wives and most don't, don't decide you are so special that this one time they will leave. Men can be obtuse and imply a lot. Women fill in the blanks to what that means. Instead, in the face of an obtuse statement tell yourself he is being deliberately vague and if you can't get a straight answer, walk away.
Look at the history.
If a poly guy is promising you that he can go mono but his entire history has always been poly. Be careful. this isn't a Rock Hudson, Doris Day movie where the confirmed womanizer falls for the confirmed virgin. (If you're young you can look that up.) Think instead if it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck it is most likely a duck. Think Occam's razor. Which is, the most likely truth is the one you consider.
Don't advertise what you aren't selling.
I'm not poly. I've considered it but I know me. I would instinctively take a back seat to subs that were in place before me. That would leave me unfulfilled because I am best in one on one dynamics. When I've explained this to poly Doms they argue the point and try to define me in ways that are NOT me. That is wanting and wishful thinking on their part. I know what won't work for me, so I don't let those communications take me too close where my feelings are involved. That result is a lot more pain when I have to walk away, which I knew would happen at the start.
Think of it this way. When you find a puppy or kitten you know you can't keep, DON'T name it. That makes it hurt more because you made a connection even when you knew you couldn't keep it.
Work on yourself, work on yourself, work on yourself.
Only with a personal stronghold of self-knowledge and development, can you safely navigate this realm where so many try to get out of you want they want and too often ignore your authenticity. There aren't real matches around every corner. It takes time and a fair bit of loneliness if you want more than casual. That is the price of waiting for the right person. When you find that person you end up with an enviable and sustainable long relationship. Think about the difference between MacDonalds and fine dining. Now don't get me wrong, I will always love MacDonalds, but there is much more nourishment in fine dining and healthy eating.
So decide what you are hungry for and shop for that.
If for some reason you find you can't help but choose the sure-fire painful outcome, I suggest more is going on. You might want to work on that since the unhappy truth for many of us is that we tend to choose the same type of person over and over again until we learn how to fix what is an unresolved issue in us and be healthier. It usually takes professional help, but we are worth it. Being in constant pain is not.
I don't think the question is which type of emotional pain hurts more. It all hurts. And even in the best scenarios, you may get hurt. So make your takeaway which is less often hurtful and which is worth the risk of hurt. That is the ultimate target I think. Your mileage may vary.
H*
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