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Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

Was this me?

18 replies

Foreverlexicon · 28/03/2019 08:08

Was this me?
I’ve just had a super intense but short relationship end and I’m in bits. I don’t think I’ve been treated very well to be honest but I’m brilliant at endlessly seeing the good in others and the fault in myself so I’m not entirely sure.

It took an incidence of sexual assault to see my ex was abusive and even then after I ended things, I begged for her back!

I will try and summarise the best I can. For context both female. We got talking online and immediately really hit off, messaging constantly until the early hours, I was literally sat there laughing out loud. We met about a week later and that was basically it. I work shifts but we started spending every night I wasn’t at work together, staying up until the early hours talking and laughing, talking constantly in between. It was very intense. This was all very mutual if not even led by her more than me.

She was signed off from work and eventually confided in me this was due to a combination of MH problems. This didn’t bother me at all, I have my own experiences and I just wanted to support her. To be honest this made it even more intense, she had a panic attack when I was there once and I literally held her through it until things were better.

Looking back, I can see problems here already. It was very one sided in that I was doing all the driving (although she did offer fuel money and I had said it’s better at hers), rarely checked I’d had anything to eat, even things like cuddles and sex were quite one sided although when I brought up an occasion I felt rejected she was very apologetic and did seem more considerate the next day.

Said she wasn’t seeing anyone else. She started saying the loveliest things, kept saying how much she liked me, sent me a very sweet message saying she was crazy about me, didn’t want to be without me now and so on. All going very well - very intense, but I figured that would settle down in time. A couple of days after this message, I woke up from a nightshift to some messages from her saying she was having a strange day and was feeling very anxious. I asked why and she gave a list of reasons, one being worrying about not getting to see me when she is back at work. I offered some solutions and she suddenly said ‘I think you want more than me’ and ended it, saying she doesn’t want a relationship. Then her dog got very ill and had to spend the night at the vet. This obviously made her anxiety even worse. I was on a nightshift and just kind of kept her company through the night, she wasn’t up for talking much but I didn’t want her to feel alone so I sent the odd picture and stuff. She thanked me the next morning.

We talked a bit and arranged that I would go over that night. Later she cancelled and I said okay but I feel like the sooner we see each other, the sooner we can figure this out one way or another. She then said we need to end this. I called her and said can we talk about this? She said she needed some space. I was not very good at giving her space, I will take ownership of that. I was very anxious and panicky. Sent her a few messages calling her out on being scared about us getting close and later tried to just make light and be a bit happy.

Next day she rang me and had a bit of a go at me. I then left it. I was going to post her coat back and started to write a note as I felt bad sending it without anything but it got a bit long. I felt a long letter looked creepy so I messaged her instead, also felt I didn’t need to be waiting days for a reply. She messaged back and said hey do you want to talk about this. So she called me and we had a nice catch up, laughing etc like old times and kind of came to the conclusion we would take a step back and see what happens. Over the next few days she was still pretty off with me over messages. I mentioned this and asked what I could do to fix it. She was a bit shitty with me and said not to expect it to go back to normal right away. Next day we were chatting and it was fine, much more normal. I came across a meme which basically made references to anxiety when people don’t reply to you due to an abusive ex doing that as punishment. My ex was abusive and she knows this.

I sent it to her and said look this sums up why I get anxious when you don’t respond if things arent ‘right’ - obviously when they are, I don’t care how long it takes you to reply. We’re opposites with this, you need space whereas I want to fix things right away. Perhaps in the future you could just say, I need some space I’ll get back to you and then I’ll respect that and I won’t be so anxious. She absolutely flipped out, said I was accusing her of being abusive and saying she was punishing me, and blocked me on everything. I managed to get a message to her on a different platform apologising and said I didn’t mean that at all, I meant the opposite and I was just pointing this out to help us communicate. She just said she didn’t want to hear it and blocked me there too.

My brain is frazzled and I’m really quite upset by it all. I know I was too needy but within the context of the amount of communication we were having, i don’t think I was excessive. I feel trampled on, she did a massive u turn on everything she was saying then made me out to be in the wrong and then a massive overreaction and did not give me the opportunity to explain.

I’m going to arrange therapy as I can see this whole thing was quite unhealthy but yet all I want is her to unblock me, talk to me and things to go back to how they were a couple of weeks ago. I’m seeing this as being all my fault, I seem to find it impossible to think actually, this whole situation isn’t good and I’m better off without her.

Sorry this is so long but I wanted to explain it properly. Thoughts on it all?

OP posts:
RickOShay · 28/03/2019 10:14

It sounds like she just wasn’t ready for a relationship. Nothing to do with you, all her own stuff.
Try not to dwell too much, I don’t think you did anything wrongFlowers

pudding21 · 28/03/2019 10:31

My thoughts are it all sounds a bit too stressful and a head fuck all round. I think you should be pleased she has blocked you really, it would only get worse. Perhaps she isn't in the right place to be in a relationship but it shouldnt be this hard. I don't think you sounded like you did anything wrong either, sounds like you were supportive and a bit confused about everything.

Foreverlexicon · 28/03/2019 11:09

Thank you. This is my issue - I know it’s a bad situation but my self esteem doesn’t seem to be high enough to think I deserve better. I just make excuses for her MH and think along the lines of ‘I could help with that,’. That’s what I did with my ex for 4 years.

I know it’s all for the best and I just need to keep hammering that into my head. And look into some therapy as there’s a definite pattern forming here for me.

OP posts:
saccade · 28/03/2019 11:29

I think you (and she) are really, really not ready to date.

I think you must make therapy an absolute priority. Certainly impose six months off having or seeking a relationship whilst you do so. It will do you so much good in the long run. I know it will be hard but you can do it.

And don’t get back together with her, nor should you blame her; it was, and is, simply not a good match.

saccade · 28/03/2019 11:35

Honestly also, and I appreciate how honest your OP is, it sounds like you were constantly pushing at her boundaries despite her quite clearly laying them out. Again that is not a criticism, but something to look at in counselling.

Do you have a counsellor in mind? Is there someone in your area who seems like they might be a good fit?

ElspethFlashman · 28/03/2019 11:38

You're blaming her for being intense but tbh the whole second part of your post was about your intensity and to be frank, obsessive behaviour.

If she has MH problems, being with someone as intense as you is really bad for her.

And you're still insisting you have to talk to her. She blocked you on everything she could think of, you found a back door (how long did that take?!) and she had to block you there too. In other words you 100% didn't give a shit that she didn't want to talk to you. That's really crossing a boundary.

Foreverlexicon · 28/03/2019 12:32

I will accept that. Happy to be told where I’m wrong although gently would be great as I’m not in the best place right now. I have already arranged some therapy through work and will take it from there. Definitely not dating for a while, I need to figure my head out.

I’m not blaming her for anything, I’m just trying to work out how we went from where to were to a total U turn on everything. I guess I just desperately wanted to make it okay again. Re messaging her on different platform, I see your point, I panicked as she just wouldn’t let me explain what I meant and I wanted her to hear me out before it was too late when I felt she had gotten the complete wrong end of the stick. I suppose I did push against her boundaries. I found it difficult because we went from speaking constantly and being very close to nothing and I wanted to fix it and make things nice again. I’m a bull in a china shop, when things are wrong I desperately want to make it okay again but I overdo it.

OP posts:
UbbesPonytail · 28/03/2019 12:45

I think you’ve answered your own question - you got too intense too quickly. You think it’s all great and then you can overnight just realise it isn’t the relationship for you. I don’t think there’s anything to talk about. You won’t get that kind of closure; it’s instinct and that can’t always be articulated.

You two just were not meant to be. It isn’t fair to her to bulldoze through her boundaries because you want to talk. Sometimes there isn’t anything else to say; she’d already told you that she wanted out.

Don’t overthink why it ended and focus your energy on how you respond and cope with these situations.

Foreverlexicon · 28/03/2019 12:56

To be fair to me, which I forgot to mention in my OP, when she initially said she wasn’t sure about us carrying on she said she wanted to keep talking and be friends etc. When I was trying to help her that evening through her anxiety, I did say What do you want me to do, do you want me to help or leave you alone and she said she wanted me there and that it was helping.

As I’ve said before, the initial intensity was led by her - she was asking me to come over all the time, calling all the time etc. Again not blaming her but I just want to point out it was very mutual at that point. Hence it threw me so much but yes I definately need to work on accepting it when things suddenly change.

OP posts:
Foreverlexicon · 28/03/2019 13:14

Now i feel utterly disgusted with myself. And I hate that I can’t fix it. Ugh. Definitely therapy time!

OP posts:
RickOShay · 28/03/2019 14:00

Forever it’s not your fault!!!!
sometimes things just don’t work out, that’s ok, that’s how we learn.
Take heart and be kind to yourself, you need to be ok with who you are, don’t look to other people to fill
you up.

isitmee · 28/03/2019 18:09

I really feel your pain in this, something very similar has just happened to me. I was close friends with someone and he told me he wanted a relationship with me, for weeks he was in constant contact, morning noon and night, phone calls too, wanting to see me regularly, my car was in the garage and he was offering to come and help me get kids to nursery, go down the beach ect then we slept together and he gave me the same speech, just wanted to stay friends but the contact has completely stopped now. It minimised literally over night, he did want to talk but said not until the next afternoon and like you I couldn't wait, I really wanted to talk to him there and then, it was very difficult. I think when people do this though it's them that has something going on, they get all intense then go cold - we get used to the intensity and like it then when it stops it's like a drug withdrawal almost. Well that's how I felt anyway, I hope you manage to find some peace. I've just been telling myself maybe he's actually saved me from being in a very difficult relationship, I'm quite consistent with how I feel towards people and these people are blowing hot and cold, that would be very difficult to be with I think

JK1773 · 28/03/2019 18:23

OP I think this relationship sounds very complicated and I agree you both need to call it a day. Neither of you are ready. I think she strung you along at times but you (laterly) refused to give her the space she asked for which will have sent her anxiety sky high. Be kind to yourself and take some time to be on your own

Foreverlexicon · 28/03/2019 19:06

Isitmee - I think you absolutely nailed it there. I was quite lonely and down before we met so I absorbed all the attention like a sponge (and we geniunely did get on very well), so when it suddenly stopped I didn’t know what to do with myself and then it was very difficult to try and work out an ‘appropriate’ level of contact afterwards. I’m still not convinced I deserved the outrage and blocking for suggesting a solution to a situation which makes me feel very anxious but I guess it’s for the best. Thank you

OP posts:
LemonJuiceandSugar · 28/03/2019 19:15

I think that sometimes you meet a person and you exacerbate each other’s issues. No one is at fault, it just happens sometimes. It’s as if you feel this amazing connection but all the connection really is is between the wounded and broken parts of yourselves.

I struggle with intensity/boundaries too op so sympathise.

LemonJuiceandSugar · 28/03/2019 19:17

isitme your post resonates with me too! I’ve had the same. It felt like standing in a spotlight and then all the lights just turning off

Foreverlexicon · 28/03/2019 22:03

@lemonjuiceandsugar yes! That really really resonates. I just wanted to be everything for her that no one was for me when I was really struggling but that’s not really a healthy foundation for a relationship either I guess

OP posts:
GeraldineFangedVagine · 29/03/2019 11:10

The first relationship I had after I broke up with my children’s father was a bit like this. I was very needy and didn’t respect her space. We mutually decided that whilst the relationship was fun, we were fundamentally too different. I met someone who didn’t mind my need for attention and wasn’t on a completely on a different page to me. You will get there op, there’s nothing wrong with you it’s just it wasn’t right. I do think relationships between two women can often be very very intense too.

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