my bf insinuates we break up or saying he can’t show affection for me, bringing up breakups, etc. he also seems kinda out of it a lot.
he’ll say he’s uncomfortable in the relationship (uncomfortable dating, not because of me, i don’t think) or wants to make sure he’ll be good for me but then says he doesn’t wanna talk about it or just brushes it off and says he’ll continue to date me and just deal with it because he likes me and without me, he’ll have no one.
You don’t need to put up with this crap. You’ll get over him faster than you think. There’s plenty of other potential boyfriends out there.
Yeah those are some serious 🚩🚩🚩 OP needs to be careful to not have the mindset of “I can fix them” or “they’ll change”.
The boyfriend needs to work on themselves before they enter into a relationship.
he thinks “oh, this is the way i am” and won’t do anything. he’s said he wanted to break up many times but then he doesn’t because then he won’t have a partner (obviously)
I can only speak from my personal experience in similar circumstances. Get out, move on with your life. If they don’t want to seek help now, while the fire is still kindling, it’ll only continue to burn everything in its path - including you.
You deserve a partner who is ready to be with you and be their best self.
thank you so much!! I’ll see how it goes :)
thank you so much :) idk why he’s like this
Could be a lot of things.
fair enough
I think he’s just scared to be alone.
I’m choosing to take everything you’ve described him doing and saying at face value.
As such, this would indicate he has some deep-seated issues with self-confidence, or intimacy, or both - the types of issues I’ve listed are purely speculative, I have no concrete idea what his situation is. Either way, the relevant part is that he seems to have some work to do with himself.
Have you two discussed therapy at all? Based on your description, couple’s therapy may be a tough sell, but if he isn’t already, he should consider going to therapy by himself, for his own sake. It sounds like he’s having a tough time dealing with the context of a relationship, which translates into a rollercoaster ride on your end, especially if he goes back and forth between wanting to stay (for whatever reason, although “because you’re there” is… well, it is how it is) and wanting to leave (again, for whatever reason).
This push-pull will wear you down, especially if you genuinely care about him. I would recommend starting to consider the options you have at your disposal now, because you do still have full control over your side of the relationship. You can try to discuss things with him and frame everything away from a potential break-up (i.e. ‘neutrally’ broaching the subject of his wellbeing, of his state of mind, etc.), but at the end of the day, we can’t help other people by force.
I’m sorry you’re going through this, these types of situations are beyond exhausting…
thank you! this helps, we could try couples therapy but i can’t go with my family because they have an intense fear of me being SA’d so i can’t even be around amab people in their presence
Your family sounds revolting
they’re very conservative and transphobic too so they see me as a woman, and they think all amab people will do sexual things to afab people even IN PUBLIC
Oh, Jesus, that sounds very rough, too… I mean, I understand the worry, but it seems like their worry thoroughly shifted into controlling paranoia… Anyway, not judging your family, there are plenty of justifiable reasons for that fear, but it does sound… extreme…
Anyway, I hope things’ll work out one way or another! And as rough as this may sound, a breakup would be far from the end of the world, however painful it may be in the moment. You would also have zero reasons to feel guilty about it, you’re his partner, not his therapist.
my friend’s mom is the same way afaik. i was barely even allowed to hang out with guys at age like 8 for that reason. thank you so much :)
You’re very welcome! Genuinely hope you’ll find peace soon, however it may happen! You deserve to be able to feel safe and secure in a relationship!
thanks so much! hopefully he can learn to fully love me
His loss if he can’t 🤷♂️
thanks