Lost and Lonely in PA

devsfan77

New member
Hi all, this is mostly to get it all out of my head but any advice or thoughts are welcome.......here goes......

I am a 36 year old white male who is divorced once and in the process of getting a second divorce. All my life i knew that having only one person to love was not for me, sadly, i feel like i am the only one who feels like this. Towards the end of my second marriage I met a woman who i met on a swinger site. My wife knew of her and at the time approved. When the time came for us to play the first time, my wife freaked out and moved in with a friend of ours and who i had encouraged a relationship with. I later learned that there was a much deeper relationship with him then i was told about despite the repeated statements that she would be totally honest with me. I leaned on this new woman, Ill call her B, much more then i should have at the time. We did develop some pretty serious and intense feelings for each other and while sometime has passed, we still havent officially become a couple. I refer to her as my not-girlfriend do to my having label issues. She means the world to me as well as her kids but still cannot bring myself to label our relationship although i am very committed to her and the kids. I have been very upfront and honest about my inability to be with just one person emotionally and while it took an enormous amount of work, the relationship we have no is no less then perfect for the both of us. When i do find a new woman that i feel intense feelings for, the transition to a new woman can be a bit rough but with honesty and communication we generally work through it. Some of them have even become friends. I recently met a new woman and again, was upfront and honest with her, K, about my lifestyle and the person i am. While she stated In theory it sounds logical, she was unsure she could be in a poly relationship. I told her i understood and tried to only be a friend. We ended up sleeping together and became quite close. K, stated that she would try the poly lifestyle and while no official label was put on the relationship, we acted very much like a couple. When K told me a guy from her work asked her out, I encouraged it and approached it like another part of our relationship. After one or two dates, she informed me that this man, would not accept another person in a relationship and while they are not a couple, she did break things off with me. I find myself now with a void where she was and cant get her out of my heart and mind. Another factor compounding the issue is that B lives where my family lives, and K lives near where i recently moved for work. About 2 hours away. so now i feel like i am totally alone in my new surroundings and have struggled as of late as too why i feel wrong in who i am and what i want in my relationships. Thoughts of suicide have crept into my mind and while i am doing my best to stave them off........recently i was placed on administrative leave from work, unpaid, as i was having a bad day and my supervisors took my saying so in the wrong context. All I really want in this life is a big family, including B and her kids, but including another.......why is it so fucking hard to find someone who can accept other people??

why do i feel like im the only one, while in the back of my mind, knowing im not, that feels this way?........

End of rant........
 
Hi devsfan,

I'm sorry to hear you are going to a rough time.

A couple of things stand out to me, to begin with.

The first is: what is the gap between dating all of the women that you've mentioned in your post? Have you had any single time at all over the past few years - without any partners, mono or poly? Purely from the wording in the post, it sounds like you aren't giving yourself enough of an emotional break before entering a relationship with the next woman, which can lead to over-intensified bonding. Sometimes this can work out well, but if you go through a series of breakups after such intense bonding periods, this can really take its toll - and it sounds like it is. I know that for me, breakups take a long time to heal from. I used to jump from one breakup to the next, but I took 6 months away from dating after my last painful breakup, and I'm really glad I gave myself that healing time. It's just something to consider.

The second thing that stands out is this:

I recently met a new woman and again, was upfront and honest with her... she was unsure she could be in a poly relationship... We ended up sleeping together and became quite close. K, stated that she would try the poly lifestyle... guy from her work asked her out.. she informed me that this man, would not accept another person in a relationship and... she did break things off with me.

If you look at it from an objective standpoint, the issue here was getting involved with someone who expressed doubts about being in a poly relationship. I've personally dated women who have never experienced (or even heard of) poly. However, upon talking to them about poly, they showed a keen interest to learn about it. I wouldn't date someone who started "I'm not sure I can be poly". It leads to too much heartache. I would advise generally steering clear of anyone who needs to be talked into poly in the future. Or, if you meet someone 'willing to try' it... be a bit more careful with your heart.

Thirdly, you are not wrong for wanting to practice polyamory. Do you have a therapist, or could you try to find one? It might help to talk through these feelings. In fact, if you are thinking of suicide, I'm concerned that you should find a poly-friendly counsellor for the sake of your own health and happiness. There was a recent post about how to find one:

http://www.polyamory.com/forum/showthread.php?t=70167


I'm sorry to hear that you are also having a rough time at work. From the outside, this suggests to me that you are taking on too much emotion, and it's creating a ball of sorrow that impacts other areas of your life. You need to give yourself a break, I think! Focus on yourself for a while, and your relationship with B (if I understood it correctly that you're still together).

Finally, it takes time to meet people we are truly compatible with. Have you considered where you are looking for these women? OKCupid is known to have a high ratio of poly/open people. These days, I almost exclusively look for all dates on OKC. Otherwise, have you looked for poly groups and events in your area? I'm not sure if you're into kink or not, but I've found that in my area, at least, kink and poly often (not always) go hand in hand. So that's another option. Though not right now. Right now I think you need to heal!
 
Hi there and thanks for your input, while I try my very best not to see anyone who isnt poly, finding poly people is extremely difficult. I have tried okcupid with no luck at all. Also as much as I hate it sometimes, the heart wants what the heart wants. I have looked into a poly friendly councillor and have not had any luck there as well. As I said, the thought has crept into my mind, but I know in my heart that I could never go through with it.
 
I also haven't made my relationship with B "official" as I recognize my need to heal from my ex wife. Well, thats part of the reason anyway. I have been separated from my ex wife for going on 3 years, again, the reason for not making things "official" is because i realize i need to be okay with being alone before i can be involved with anyone. While i do have this great relationship with B, she knows that im not ready for that label.
 
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Hi devsfan77,
Long time no see, nice to cross paths again.

Re (from Post #3):
"As I said, the thought has crept into my mind, but I know in my heart that I could never go through with it."

D'oh, I'm confused. What thought do you speak of here?

Re: a poly-friendly councelor ... did you actually find one, and if so, what were the sessions like?

Re: dating sites ... okay OKCupid is a no-go. How about one of these?

Re: finding poly people in general ... can you find a local poly group in your area? Here are some websites that might help you look:

Sometimes simply googling "polyamory" with the name of your State or nearest large city will turn up a poly group or two.

One other thought is,
"As for where to meet poly people, if by some chance you are interested in anything alternative like Renaissance fairs, goth culture, sci-fi conventions, indie music, bdsm, or any small fringe group, you will be more likely to meet people who have at least heard of poly and are accepting of it."
-- SpaceHippieGeek, Polyamorous Percolations

In any case, I encourage you to have faith in your polyamorous inclinations. They aren't widely accepted in traditional mainstream society, but that doesn't mean they're sinful or unhealthy. And think of how many members there are on this forum ... and I feel confident that this forum represents just a small percentage of polyamorists around the world. You do have a vast peer group out there that feels as you do about love and its plurality.

Pluck up your courage and determine that you'll carry on, doing your part to encourage polyamory in your own corner of the world. People need you. They would be heartbroken if something happened to you. I don't know you well personally, but I, too, would consider it a loss to me as well as to the world of polyamory if you ended your life. Please know that people care about you -- just as you are -- and refrain from hurting yourself. I actually don't condemn suicide because only the person committing the act knows how much pain they're in, but I'm just encouraging you to hang in there if you can.

I wonder if it would help the situation if you were to start looking for ways to move back into the locality in which B lives. If you could, you'd have the side benefit of living near your family members again. Or as an alternative possibility, would B be willing to start looking for ways to move out into the locality in which you live? Perhaps that's something you and she can talk about.

Finding local poly (and poly-friendly) people will always be a challenge, as long as polyamory continues to be a "fringe practice" and for the moment, that's what it is. You are going to need a great deal of patience if you want to cope with that reality. Do the best you can but don't be devastated when the search for local poly friends is very difficult. Polyamory is something that needs to take a deeper hold in societies around the world, and you are breaking new ground for those who will follow.

I know you are at a time of profound suffering, and I am sorry that's so. I'm sorry the world is not as it should be, and that it essentially shuts you out from the love that you need. You need time to grieve the loss of the enlightened world you once hoped existed.

Maybe you and B could both move to a poly-friendly city. We have a thread about that here: http://www.polyamory.com/forum/showthread.php?p=265487#post265487 ... check it out.

Please pluck up some hope and courage and remain in contact with us on this thread. We'll get this figured out.

Sincerely,
Kevin T.
 
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