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Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2022 8:11:02 GMT
When the initial spark is gone, what next?
I've been told that when the initial excitement, that feeling of limerence, when it goes away, is replaced by a feeling of connection that is less exciting but calming. Some people might think that because they aren't feeling as excited as they used to, there might be something wrong with the relationship.
Can you tell me about your experiences with healthy relationships and what and how were the steps? How did you feel at the beginning and as time went on?
Were intimacy and vulnerability developing slowly? Did you feel boredom, because you weren't feeling that excitement and acceleration?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2022 13:13:35 GMT
When the initial spark is gone, what next? I've been told that when the initial excitement, that feeling of limerence, when it goes away, is replaced by a feeling of connection that is less exciting but calming. Some people might think that because they aren't feeling as excited as they used to, there might be something wrong with the relationship. Can you tell me about your experiences with healthy relationships and what and how were the steps? How did you feel at the beginning and as time went on? Were intimacy and vulnerability developing slowly? Did you feel boredom, because you weren't feeling that excitement and acceleration? I've never experienced limerence in connection with anything but a toxic insecure mess. My boyfriend of two years and I had a short phase of infatuation that felt exciting and date-y but it was milder and less destabilizing than the rush of a new insecure entanglement. It morphed over time as we became more emotionally connected and vulnerable and worked through arguments, building trust and commitment. I look forward to seeing him every day (we live apart) and he's always the one I want to share things with. He's my best friend and my sexy man. He is the reliable constant for me in a crazy world. He's safe and doesn't feel risky or adrenalizing. He's not boring, we share way too much in life to be boring, the good and the bad of life. He feels sustainable and good for the planet if you know what I mean. Like, not something I'll regret or have to figure out how to improve on later so living things in my life can survive. He's already good for the planet, my planet.
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Post by alexandra on Jun 18, 2022 18:31:10 GMT
To add on to this, it's not the responsibility of other people to make you not feel bored. A relationship may be there to enhance and share your life, but it's not to take all responsibility off you, fix your problems for you, or emotionally regulate or manage you. That's expecting too much from sources outside yourself. If you're feeling bored, are you generally content being on your own and sitting with emotions and life, or do you seek a lot of distraction through variety, stimulation, and novelty? There's a difference between feeling bored sometimes but being able to find ways to get yourself out of it versus feeling numb and disconnected when you're not being highly stimulated (which I'd argue is what limerance feels like, highly stimulating). Life is always going to have tedious and boring parts, chores and work for example, and everyone needs to contend with that and make the best of it. In regards to how attachment factors into this, I do agree with introvert that intense limerance usually reflects attachment wounds being heavily activated. There's a lot unknown about the new partner at the beginning that gets filled in with fantasy, plus hormones are doing all sorts of biological things that feel good. As you get to know the person and fill in the gaps with reality and you get used to them so the hormones calm down, the overwhelm inevitably fades (which believe it or not is good because limerance in the long term puts a lot of stress on the body). I've observed that with insecure attachers, the boredom usually comes from resuming being in your usual state, one that originally is filled with difficulty sitting with yourself, difficulty fully processing emotions, and (depending on your past history throughout your life and your genetics) feeling numbness or nothing or boredom if you're not triggered anxious (or even possibly avoidant, triggered in one direction or another -- but the baseline space between being triggered, when you're alone with yourself and have nothing to react to, feels stifling). I know I just went super intellectually analytical about something that feels like it should just be emotional. But emotions are a guide, and one struggle for insecure attachers is figuring out what they're really trying to tell you. If you have a pattern over and over of losing attraction and connection for promising partners after a few weeks or months, then your emotions are correct in giving you information that something is wrong! But it's more likely internal issues that need to be addressed and not anything wrong with your partnership once this is a pattern... either because it's difficult for you to sit with yourself or because you're only attracted to unstable or unsuitable partners (I used to be AP and was only only only attracted to avoidants, and each pairing had the same disastrous dynamics over and over). I find this link really informative in considering what is potentially going on underneath the kinds of dynamics you described: jebkinnisonforum.com/thread/2372/overcoupling-stress-response
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Post by Deleted on Jun 18, 2022 22:11:04 GMT
The second to last post in the thread about how to create a long lasting, juicy relationship addresses this pretty well. It's a thread by anne12 who is a veritable encyclopedia of all things relationship lol
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