I only enjoy the "honeymoon phase"?

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kendrameow
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03 Jan 2016, 7:08 pm

I've dated people for long periods of time before, but I always have the same issue. For the first few months of the relationship, it's so fun and interesting getting to know someone new and starting to feel comfortable enough to open up and just enjoy each other, but then once that's all over with, I'm immediately bored and lonely and just tired of it all. You'd think I would have learned by now to just not date people, but I can't help it. I'm a hopeless romantic and I fall in love so easily. Along with having aspergers, I have bipolar disorder and one of the things about it that affects me the most is the intense emotions. Particularly intense feelings of attachment and I develop "crushes" on people constantly.
I'm just curious if anyone else has this issue? If so, how do you deal with it?



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04 Jan 2016, 1:44 am

I don't think being Bi-Polar is totally to blame for it, but it may make the feelings more extreme than normal. Many people get bored with other people after awhile, including myself. The newness is exciting for awhile, but it eventually wears off. Many couples get bored with each other after this phase...some decide to try to spice things up, and many move on. It's a common thing. For me personally, I need to be stimulated mentally, and some of the people I have been around just don't have the capacity to do that.



dobyfm
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04 Jan 2016, 6:42 am

Maybe you have been badly hurt in the past that you find it hard to be with someone for so long. Was there ever a time in your past when someone broke your trust completely? I read somewhere that can cause commitment issues in people.



kendrameow
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04 Jan 2016, 2:22 pm

dobyfm wrote:
Maybe you have been badly hurt in the past that you find it hard to be with someone for so long. Was there ever a time in your past when someone broke your trust completely? I read somewhere that can cause commitment issues in people.


Yes, I was emotionally and sexually abused by my first boyfriend when I was 15, and my father also left when I was little because of commitment issues he had. I've actually read that issues like that can be inherited genetically from the father. It's most commonly men who inherit the "promiscuity" gene but women can too, we just can't pass it on I think. So that's always worried me.



dobyfm
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05 Jan 2016, 6:56 pm

kendrameow wrote:
Yes, I was emotionally and sexually abused by my first boyfriend when I was 15, and my father also left when I was little because of commitment issues he had. I've actually read that issues like that can be inherited genetically from the father. It's most commonly men who inherit the "promiscuity" gene but women can too, we just can't pass it on I think. So that's always worried me.


I am very sorry you had to go through this :( Maybe with time you will find someone who you will really like and never let go of. I truly wish you the best.



beakybird
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05 Jan 2016, 7:01 pm

Well there's plenty of people just like that. Date for a few months, get bored, move on, date again, repeat.

Just concentrate on finding people that have similar ideas of what they want and you should have very little problem. It's when you start involving people that are commitment types that you start f-ing with people's heads.



kendrameow
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05 Jan 2016, 9:24 pm

beakybird wrote:
Well there's plenty of people just like that. Date for a few months, get bored, move on, date again, repeat.

Just concentrate on finding people that have similar ideas of what they want and you should have very little problem. It's when you start involving people that are commitment types that you start f-ing with people's heads.


I never really thought about it that way. It seems like everyone I talk to always wants a serious relationship with commitment and stuff and I feel like I'm only 21 and if I spend too long with the wrong person, I'll never really enjoy myself and I'll end up alone later in life. Idk I worry about things a lot.



beakybird
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06 Jan 2016, 7:23 am

kendrameow wrote:
beakybird wrote:
Well there's plenty of people just like that. Date for a few months, get bored, move on, date again, repeat.

Just concentrate on finding people that have similar ideas of what they want and you should have very little problem. It's when you start involving people that are commitment types that you start f-ing with people's heads.


I never really thought about it that way. It seems like everyone I talk to always wants a serious relationship with commitment and stuff and I feel like I'm only 21 and if I spend too long with the wrong person, I'll never really enjoy myself and I'll end up alone later in life. Idk I worry about things a lot.


Consider also that many people who say they want a commitment don't actually think through what that means the way you are doing. Your idea of not wanting to lock yourself down too early is a sound one if you know yourself like you seem to in this way. I'd bet there aren't nearly as many people who truly want a commitment, especially at 21, as you may think. I think "commitment" to many of these actually means "sexually exclusive until I get bored". This is not commitment.

On the other hand, and I'm not judging here, but if you spend your 20s going from person to person, assuming you are sleeping with them, later in life when you want to settle down, many guys will be either taken or may have a hard time accepting your history. Just some food for thought.

Also there are benefits to getting through the honeymoon phase of any relationship. There's a trust and understanding that only time together can build and fortify. While "fun" may diminish over time in some ways, other things like security, comfort and reliability increase. And, in my opinion sex only gets better provided both are still into each other that way.



rdos
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06 Jan 2016, 8:36 am

I think the answer to what to do is to extended the "getting to know" phase as much as possible. That means you don't date people to begin with, rather just flirt with them at a distance and obsess about them. At least I'm dependent on that procedure to get a strong attachment. Just dating doesn't work.



looniverse
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06 Jan 2016, 9:04 am

kendrameow wrote:
I'm just curious if anyone else has this issue? If so, how do you deal with it?


Yep.

Live more. Experience more. Get older.

Part of the wanderlust is because there are other options available. I think it takes time and experience to discover both yourself and what you are looking for from others. I was 33 when I found my "one." It was worth the wait.