Relationship of 10 years done. He never could commit. How do I not beat myself up for being so stupid and wasting so much time that I’m now in my 30s? To be fair he’s deeply confused - I don’t think he fully realized how long and painful the stringing along process was

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Leaving my partner of 6 years a month ago was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I imagined the rest of my life with this person. Due to a lot of problems he introduced into the relationship, including traumatic dishonesty, I knew in my heart it couldn't last forever. I knew I owed it to myself to be free and give myself the chance to meet someone who's 100%, all in, like I always was. I felt extreme grief, sorrow, suicidal thoughts for weeks after ending it. A lot of regret and anger at all the time I wasted. But the truth is I think less and less about him and our time together as the days goes by. Sometimes I wake up and realize I haven't though about him until 10am, then 11am, then noon. At this point I'm just so happy to be free of that dead weight and I'm more excited about the future than bitter about the past. I'm doing my best to fill my calendar with social events - including letting myself do new things and meet new people (though I'm not rushing). I'm still in an incredible amount of pain but regardless of what you focus on next: there is life after love. And then more life, and, the odds are overwhelmingly in your favour: eventually, more love. Be kind to yourself - you loved fully, and that is honorable.

likeuplifting

Gosh, thank you. It's been pretty lonely saying this over and over to myself for weeks now so I'm very glad if any part of this helps someone else. As soon as I found myself starting to get excited about life again all that sunk cost began to seem like a mere blip in my timeline. And same with past long-term relationships. Remember that the story of your life is the story of you. Other people are footnotes on the journey to discovering ourselves. Live for yourself and trust that there *will* - without a doubt - be so much smiling and laughter and pure joy and love again in your future - after all, once you hit rock bottom, the only way out is up. Wishing everyone lots of healing and an incredible new future ahead.

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Take heart in that he lost a partner who loved him unconditionally. You lost a partner who wasn’t in it for the long haul and didn’t support you. His loss is bigger, and you will find someone better for your love

likehelpfuluplifting

"Live and Learn." Find yourself. Do things you enjoy. Keep your chin up, be confident, and don't invest time or emotion in people or activities that don't bring you joy.

Dwelling on the past and beating yourself up doesn't accomplish anything. Easier said than done.

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I know, same thing with me. What’s helped is recognizing that he’s also a human, who also has issues and while he didn’t mean to, i was collateral damage for his commitment issues.

Onwards and upwards. It does get better. It will get better. Let yourself mourn. And learn to give yourself the love you deserve.

Xx

likeuplifting

Date with intention from here on out. Do not allow yourself to be put in grey areas. My go to line is, “if you kiss me, you are dating me exclusively and officially”

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This is a recipe for loneliness and is a lot like saying "if I take you out to dinner, I expect to get laid".

If you can't handle ambiguities of early dating, go to therapy.

There’s an argument that maybe you enjoyed the time, so it’s not “wasted”.

Eh, take it one day at a time. Are there positives you can focus on? Things that are exciting that you can do now? I mean, maybe it was all a guise but even if it was I’m sure you still enjoyed yourself. Did you learn anything? About yourself? Learning is always a positive takeaway.

Do something he's kept you from doing, and I'm sorry he didn't turn out to be what you hoped.

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likeupliftinghelpful

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