Relationship after divorce and other endings feels difficult

[Alittlebitfunny]

I'm not at all in the grief/depression that was there when first divorced (5+ years ago) but I still can't imagine taking a risk again on being close to someone.

How did people put themselves out there again? I know friends who had new partners really quickly, seemed to bounce back.

I would both love to have someone in my life and hate the idea of being close at same time. (Not looking to live with anyone as DC still young.)

How did your marriage end? If affair or abuse then I think it is much harder to trust again. I think you just need to meet someone and then build up trust slowly, knowing that perhaps you have more knowledge now and that you won't settle for the wrong person.

I see some people going straight into other relationships which doesn't feel too healthy as you need time to process an ending before starting a new beginning.

It wasn't great but I still missed him a lot, has taken a long time to adjust. There was a fear of losing myself again but I feel that less these days, I'm generally more assertive and able to be myself.