I can wait but not for ever

[axolotl]

Hi there, thank you so much for all the articles you've written.

This is the story: I have been with my gf the last 2 and a half years. I really enjoy my relationship with her and I really think we have a strong connection. We've had ups and downs, discussions and conflicts, but we've always had come out of them as a team.

Well... For the last 8 months, something happened, she stoped wanting to be sexual with me. We have our theories about what could had happen, strongly focusing in context and external turn ons/offs. We had come to the conclusion, as she explained to me, that it wasn't that she had lost interest in sex itself, but simply that right now she finds it harder to reach that level of arousal.

We talked it, schedule a day to make the right context, had a great night and it appeared we gained a new sexual functional dynamic, but time kept passing, and little we interacted. I didn't know how to feel. We talked it again.

I started reading Scarleteen articles about relationships and managing different levels of desire on a relationship. I kept on my mind "she's first; I really don't want to her to do anything that she doesn't want to do" (Cause I really don't) And then I didn't know how to feel. I felt bad 'cause this was really getting into me, I felt dumb, immature. I felt really bad because I thought that sex shouldn't determine a relationship, I really thought that breaking up for something like that wasn't a valid reason; I felt like a douchebag for even think about it. We talked it again, this time just because I wanted to know if she still liked me in that way, telling her that I felt like I couldn't be myself anymore out of fear of hurting her by just having an erection; by just feeling aroused; by making a dirty joke or dirty flirting with her. She told me that she stilled had desire, but didn't fell like act on it.

Fast forward, 4 months ago, we talked again. She told me her side of the story and I'm thinking everything differently; more hopeful. She felt pressure by this whole situation and I told her that I didn't want to be an obstacle, that I wanted to make things easier for her. We felt closer, I'd say.

I stoped thinking about how I feel and read several articles on Scarleteen (like 30, no joke). I learned that sometimes, it is just that people aren't compatible and I took a deep look into myself to see how I felt about my relationship. I learned that I do want a sexual and romantic relationship and I couldn't make this dynamic sustainable for the long term. But I also learned that I could wait for the life stage to change. Because I believe in us, everything else is great in our relationship; I love her smile, her eyes when she looks at me, when we talk, when we cuddle, how we make ourselves company... In theory, this whole situation it's just because of context, and it supposedly it will change within the life stage.

I cannot have a relationship where I don't feel free to be my self, including moments of sexual intimacy (showing memes, teasing each other, touching in a erotic way; besides of sex itself) and I cannot wait forever for this situation to change, but I do would wait, knowing that it might not change at all and that it isn't on me.

We talked it again, by accident this time, she still felt pressure, and I reaffirmed her that I wouldn't want be doing anything that she doesn't. I apologized because I really didn't want her to feel pressure since the beginning, and repeat that I wanted to make things easier, not harder.

Pressure down, the air felt lighter, one thing came to another and we're currently on a bit more sexual dynamic. We had sex in this 8 months spam, now it is slightly more common; always making sure is consensual both ways. But then it stroke me...

Now the question:

Is it fair to her not to tell her that I have a time limit? (Or even, is it fair to her if I know I have a time limit) Obviously I don't have a date and a time, just an estimate of when some life conditions might change and I could wait while she adjusts to those changes, but I wouldn’t wait any longer. Is it fair for her? Right now that we can be a bit more sexual, I had really felt that this could work, this dynamic could sustain itself at least till we're standing somewhere new. I've felt like that every time I fell we're taking a step forward towards in our relationship and in this situation.

I suggested the idea of having a plan to her, but we thought that could bring even more pressure if theres a "due date" (not a thing either of us wants). But having a time limit it actually helped me with hope and knowing my own limits. I do think that maybe... I should leave the time limit idea, and taking another approach keeping in mind I can wait, it just not forever.

I haven't tell my gf any of this thoughts, but now we're actually being a bit more sexual and I started to feel like it wouldn't be fair for her if I know I have a time limit. What do I do? I do love her and I do want to make things work, but most importantly, I want her to be safe.

[KierC]

Hi axolotl,

I’m sorry to hear this situation has got you feeling worried. I’d be happy to talk through this with you, but I have some clarifying questions first that might help me understand a bit better. How does that sound to you?

When you refer to a “time limit,” are you referring to the amount of time you’re willing to not have sex with a partner?

In general, it’s okay to have your own boundaries regarding what you’re willing to do and not do in a relationship. But this gets a bit tricky when you’re with another person who has their own desires and needs. Not everybody is going to want to have sex consistently at all points in their life. It’s also very normal to have periods of time where there’s not much sexual activity happening! People get sick, stressed, depressed, life happens and people don’t want to have sex sometimes. That doesn’t mean you can’t talk about it or have feelings about it, but this is just a reminder that in any long term relationship, desire and arousal can be higher or lower at times. I’m wondering what your reaction to that is?

Did I understand you correctly that you are having sex with her again? If so, I am not sure I’d bring up a time limit (if I’m understanding what you mean by time limit), because that might add unwanted stress. Know what I mean?

[axolotl]

Thank you so much for your time.

What I mean by time limit is the amount of time I'm willing to wait for the dynamic to change. I've felt for quite some time that I might not be 100% happy in my sexual relationship and I think is because I had a different expectative about how the sexual dynamic it was going to be. I would say, this dynamic, it's something more than just having sex, is the feeling of being desired and loved. I once read on one of your articles, one person was asking for advice, saying:

I just wanted to feel sexy and desired

(note: I can't fully remember the article or the quote) that resonated with me. This is the part that I am expecting/waiting to change. To feel desired and loved.

I think it's true all of what you said. When people besides me is involved, I have to be thoughtful and caring because they're being open and vulnerable; I have to be loving and respectful about them and their desires. And then, life just happens, nor we always want to have sex, it's normal -Me, myself don't want to have sex all the time, or feel aroused all the time- I do think that everybody has their right ether to want or not to want anything sexual. I'd say that at first, I would think that it was just that, but the difference between the dynamic before and after is such, that I got concerned... I'm still concerned. I'm concerned we might not be compatibles.

Even though I had become a bit more sexual with my partner, and considering that between this 8 months we'd had sex (less common that it used to be) I'm still scare that this actual moment of my relationship in which we're becoming a bit more sexual, is "just a phase" and that we will get back where I started 8 months ago, feeling unloved and undesired.

I guess I'm still worried that just because we're getting a bit more sexual with my partner, that doesn't mean we solved the issue, and that we might not be compatible after all.

This "time" that I'm taking as time limit, it's more for the feeling of stability on my relationship, more than it is for sex itself.

[char]

Hi axolotl, thanks for clarifying. I agree with everything Kier said, especially on the time limit--it doesn't sound like bringing up the time limit is a good idea, as it can make her feel pressured even if it wasn't your intention. If it's okay, I'd like to ask some more questions so we're all on the same page.

From your messages here, it seems like being sexually desired by your girlfriend means a lot to you. It also sounds like that romantic and sexual attraction are intimately linked for you. Why do you think that's the case? This doesn't mean it's a bad thing--a lot of people experience desire and attraction this way--but I wonder if you've thought about it. And, should the "worst case scenario" happened and the two of you didn't have a lot of sex after this, what do you think could happen? Do you feel like you're ready to face this possibility?

I'd also like to know what your girlfriend has said to you about this relationship. Has she shared with you how she sees romantic and sexual attraction? What kind of relationship does she expect from this relationship she has with you? After all, this relationship consists of two person.

[axolotl]

In hindsight... I think I'm being contradictory... I'm waiting for her telling me she still likes me. But when she does I don't believe her. I felt the dynamic changed so quickly and then taking what I felt as a long time with out sexual interaction that I got anxious. But that's totally on me because is my feeling and I should process my anxiety of her not liking me and then my anxiety of her not being honest when se tell me that she still has desire and that it was just that she doesn't want to act on it.

And then... the problem simplifies as the sexual act itself and the expressions of that sexuality. Which, takes me trough another road. So the story should be like this: I want a sexual and romantic relationship, I started one with my gf but 8 months ago the sexual dynamic decrease, we think, because of current life stage, then, carefully, we kept a lower sexual activity in which I am confident of being in because I trust she likes me in a romantic and sexual way no matter how low can we become in our sexual life considering life stages might change our libidos so then it's just a matter of trust. (Exactly what I'm laking, so that's the reason of this whole problem and what I should be taking care of)

Under this assumption, the time limit has no sense, and there is no logic in thinking that I'm waiting for desire to increase when... it never decreased.

Is this train of thought logic or I'm sounding insane, like sweeping the dirt under the rug?



P.D. Indeed she did has told me that is not that she doesn't find me attractive anymore. I actually haven't ask her about her expectations because I didn't want to tell her mines before figuring this out, to be honest, I wasn't sure what was I was expecting to happen, this hypothesis might answer why.

P.P.D. I'm not sure why would I relation sexual with romantic attraction, why would it matter so much to me to feel desired in both ways. I do, both things matter to me. I've asked me that question before but no answer has resonated with me, I couldn't say.

[lilikoi]

Hi axolotl,

I think I understand what you are saying. It sounds like you are having less sex right now which makes you feel insecure about whether your partner is still attracted to you. Is that correct?

If that is the case, let me reassure you that the amount of sex in a relationship does not mean anything about the amount of attraction in the relationship. I would really encourage you to reshape your thinking about that. The only way that we can know how someone else is feeling is by asking them. In your case, your partner has reassured you that she is still attracted to you. Have you ever spoken to a psychotherapist about this insecurity? It is a common anxiety trait to distrust someone else's feelings.

As you work through your feelings about the relationship change, you could also think about different ways your partner could reassure you that she is still attracted to you besides sex. Do you like hearing her compliment the way you look? Do you like finding hidden notes in your bag that say she was thinking about you when you didn't know she way? Do you like spending time together without your phones? It might help to spend some extra time adding reassurance to your relationship. What do you think about that?

[axolotl]

Indeed, that's correct, I felt insecure when we my partner and I started having less sex. I hadn't thought of it that way but that perspective really clicked with me.

I think talking to a therapist would help me to overcome the anxiety I feel about my relationship and that try some of this other ways of reassurance will help, too. I would need some time before start seeing a therapist for economic reasons and I'd also wait a bit before telling my gf that I would like some reassurance, now that I see she's starting to worry less about this topic and I’d like to take some time to process this new perspective myself. In any other way of our relationship, things go pretty well so I think this would be the most sensible way to manage things right now.

I would say that's pretty much it. Thank you so much for you time and your comments, that helped a lot. Thank you so much for your articles and all the help you offer in Scarleteen, too!

[Heather]

Hi there, axolotl.

I do want to pop in here and add a couple things that I haven't seen said to you in this thread but I want to make sure that you hear.

For one, it IS okay to not want to stay in a sexual relationship as a sexual relationship if it isn't sexual anymore or isn't sexual in a way that feels like a fit for you. If I am understanding this situation correctly, eight months is a considerable amount of time for a sexual relationship not to have sex in it, and it's also common for people who want to be in a sexual relationship to want to be sexual with their partner more often than that. There's something else to be said about frequency, too, which is that we know from study that when we are talking about more frequency than every 8 months, but one partner still wanting considerably more frequency than the other, that sometimes the issue is less frequency than the quality of the sex people are having: you haven't said anything about how you both experience and enjoy the sex you are having when you are having it: is it something that feels very satisfying to you both, or...?

People do often forget that when we are in relationships, we always have more options than staying in them exactly as they are and leaving them entirely: those are only two poles with a wide spectrum in between. For example, maybe what might be happening here is that this relationship is changing from one that is sexual to one that isn't, and maybe you and your partner might want to think and talk about if a different kind of relationship might be a good option for you? I've had quite a few partners over the course of my life, for example, where we started out sexual but became platonic friends instead. In fact, that's the case with two of my very best friends of decades now.