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Conference quark::human_relations-v1

Title:What's all this fuss about 'sax and violins'?
Notice:Archived V1 - Current conference is QUARK::HUMAN_RELATIONS
Moderator:ELESYS::JASNIEWSKI
Created:Fri May 09 1986
Last Modified:Wed Jun 26 1996
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:1327
Total number of notes:28298

592.0. "Still hurts like hell" by QUARK::HR_MODERATOR () Wed Sep 28 1988 13:19

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    I have been with my SO for about eight years. About five years ago I
    started an affair. 

    I met this man who just took me apart. He was five years younger than
    me - we went crazy for about three months, we lived for being together.
    He was also attached. We seemed to be psychic, he was like my brother
    that I had never known, and physically it was like no other. 

    To cut it short, this affair went on actively for about three years, on
    and off. Then it went platonic (which I had some trouble coping with)
    but still carried on. We have been in touch infrequently for the last
    year or so but always knew where to contact each other. 

    I called this guy about two months ago - he has moved job, moved house
    and not let me know. I don't know where he is. I don't know why, but
    this really hurts me. We never had any formal understanding between us
    about what would happen next - I have only my own assumptions to blame.
    To be honest, I probably loved far more than he did, and I still do. I
    have made myself a victim, which is my own fault, not his. I would have
    followed him to the ends of the earth if he had asked me to - but he
    never did. 

    But knowing all this doesn't make it hurt any less. Every day I think
    of him - I don't feel jealous or worried, I just hope he's happy. I
    just want the peace of mind of knowing where he is. Or am I just
    wanting to perpetuate my dependance on him because for some sick reason
    I need to be treated like this? 

    Can anyone out there tell me how to fall out of love?
    Or how to come off this "drug"?
    Or how to stop wanting the best lover I ever had?
    Or how to stop missing that unique closeness?
T.RTitleUserPersonal
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592.1RATTLE::MONAHANWed Sep 28 1988 13:5828
    It is apparent that you are very unhappy in your present marriage.
    If you were happy, I don't believe the affair would have started
    in the first place.  And I don't think you could so easily walk
    away from your husband for this other man, had you been given the
    choice.
    
    Why don't you seek professional help, work out your problems within
    yourself and your marriage, and try to rekindle all those feelings
    you had for this other man - with your husband?
    
    You mentioned that you made yourself a victim.  I think the REAL
    victim here is your HUSBAND.
    
    Maybe this other man decided that his marriage was far too important
    to destroy and decided to end the affair in order to save his marriage.
    
    Anyway, how long did you think this affair could last while you
    both were married?
    
    I really don't mean to be insensitive to your feelings, and I'm
    sorry if it seems that way.
    
    One more question, if you're unhappy in your present marriage, don't
    you think it would be best for all involved to end it?  Especially
    for your husband???
    
    Denise
    
592.2Time -- sometimes a dirty word...SSGBPM::KENAHOverlapping chaptersWed Sep 28 1988 13:5920
    It takes time.  I know, "F*ck you! I want the pain to stop *now*!"
    
    Doesn't work that way.  It does hurt, and you must go through the
    entire process so that you may heal. 
    
    You mentioned this "drug"; if I may suggest a few books:
    
	    	Is It Love or Is It Addiction?
                             by
                     Brenda Schaeffer 
             (Harper/Hazelden ISBN 0-06-255471-9)
                  
    		How to Survive the Loss of a Love
                             by
    Melba Colgrove, Harold H. Bloomfield & Peter McWilliams
              (Bantam Books ISBN N 0-553-26243-2)                    
                                
    My very best wishes to you.  Good luck.
    
    					andrew
592.3RATTLE::MONAHANWed Sep 28 1988 14:0211
    re:  .1
    
    
    Ooops!  
    
    
    I just read over your note again.  Sorry that I assumed you were
    married.  My mistake......
    
    Denise
    
592.4*significant* other?IAMOK::KOSKIIt's in the way that you use itWed Sep 28 1988 16:1914
    How do you fall out of love? By loving another. I understand the
    feelings you must be having over the loss of this person in your
    life. I can't understand why you remain with your SO? Is it for
    convenience? If you fell in love with him or another person you
    would soon forget the pain of the affair. From what you wrote you
    are not happy with your SO, thus the affair, thus the longing for
    the "other" man. 
    
    It may be time for you look for this "unique" closeness with another
    available man. You'll be suprised that it is not as unique as you
    may think. It's just that the person you're calling an SO does not
    make you feel this way. 

    Gail
592.5ATPS::GREENHALGEMouseWed Sep 28 1988 18:3420
    
    Gail,
    
    I disagree that the way to fall out of love is by loving another.
    Love isn't something that gets turned on and off just like that.
    
    What about that first love and those special feelings we tend to
    always have a place for relative to this first love?
    
    Also, what of fairness?  Is it really fair to the person being
    substituted for the person you really wish to be with?  In my opinion,
    this is using another human being to help you forget your loss without
    regard to what their feelings may be.
    
    Again, fairness... Are you really being fair to yourself by *loving
    another to fall out of love with someone*?  I think not.  Afterall,
    you aren't with the one person you really wish to be with.
    
    Just my thoughts...
     Beckie
592.6it's all part of living and growingSALEM::SAWYERAlien. On MY planet we reason!Wed Sep 28 1988 19:3525
    
    if you're with someone that doesn't spark those feelings like
    your other lover did then i suggest leaving this person and
    hitting the dating trail...
    
    their are 6,000,000,000 people on this planet...
    about 50% are male.....that's 3,000,000,000 men....
    and many of them are nice looking and intelligent and , in their
    own uniqe ways, special....
    how many of the 3,000,000,000 have you met?
    
    heck, some people (must be real sickos) even think I'M special!!!
    
    the belief that their is only one "right" person for each of us
    is a myth and the sooner you start meeting and dating other men
    (or women...) the sooner you'll meet some of those special guys
    that will seem "right" to you....

    of course, unfortunately, their is indeed pain in the loss
    of a special friend or lover....but in most cases it can be overcome
    and replaced with the joy of a new friend or lover...
    
    good luck
    rik
    
592.7You never fall out of loveVIDEO::TAYLORSo much CHOCOLATE! Such tight JEANS!Thu Sep 29 1988 17:5620
    RE: falling out of love.
    
    Boy, that's a difficult one.  I was in love (as many of you know)
    and lost him in an accident in May.  It was the toughest thing I 
    have ever had to go through (and am still going through).  I know
    that love will always be there, but life does go on.  I have found
    someone that really cares for me and I care for him.  Maybe that
    relationship will grow into a love like I had for Tommy, but it
    will never replace that love.  It will always be there.
    
    What I am trying to say to you is that life does go on after loosing
    a love.  But like the others, I don't understand why you are still
    in the relationship you started so long ago.  You don't seem to
    love the person as much as you loved the one you had the affair
    with, so you must realize that there is something better.  If you felt
    that way about someone before, you will feel that way about someone
    again.            
    
    Holly
    
592.9you can do it. but it is workTPVAX1::WHITEWAYFri Sep 30 1988 11:2429
		I agree with .5....Loving someone to diminish the feelings
    of another just does not do it. After my divorse, I felt ruined.
    I knew in my heart I could not ever stop loving my wife..... I found
    someone to help me in my time of need. (actually both our time of
    need) It did not work. 
    	After a point I realized it was my ego (Maybe the wrong to use
    but.....) that needed a boost. I sought a counselor. I went through
    hell. But it was worth it..... I was able to work with my feelings.
    I have to say now that there is no easy way of stopping those feelings
    of love. One can not just say "No more". It does not work.... Time
    goes on and we still feel..... Its been two and a half + years since
    the divorse. I still love her.... 
    	But the love has changed. It does not hurt to think of her.
    I does not make me sit alone and cry for hours on end. Instead I
    think of her and smile becaause of what we learned together.
    	I am now married and never (I can really say this) have been
    happier. I have learned a lot along the way, used each moment to
    insure a happy and most always perfect life with my wife. 
    
    	You have to realise there will always be pain. There will be
    tears.... Use that to your advantage. Seek help and get your life
    on track................. Then find your life..............
    
    
    
    good luck
    
    curt
    
592.10Falling in and out of loveIAMOK::KOSKIIt's in the way that you use itFri Sep 30 1988 15:4622
   re .5 - Beckie, I agree that replacing someone is not the way to go. What
    I meant in this situation is that if the person that is still with
    the same SO she was with when she had the affair, she is likely not
    going to forget the affair, as the SO is not fulfilling her needs.
    The same void still exists in the relationship. I was thinking that
    if she was involved with someone that she was really in love with,
    why would she'd want to hold onto the feelings for the affair person. 

    
    re: Falling out of love
    
    Yes, people fall out of love, I did...the divorce is final Wednesday.
    
    I guess I have a hard time understanding why so many people don't/can't
    let go of another after the break up. I see it happening up close
    and personal. The person is only making themselves miserable by
    not getting on with their own lives and excepting the facts. I guess
    I don't understand because I could not feel that obsessive about someone
    that no longer wanted me in their life.
    
    Gail
    
592.11SKETCH::BASSETTDesignWed Oct 05 1988 15:3334
    RE .5
    
    "...I could not feel that obsessive about someone that no longer
    wanted in in their life."
    
    Neither could I, but I went thru it.  It is so easy to say and so
    hard to do.  I agree that you should seek help in dealing with your
    feeling about loosing this wonderful man.  Could you two have really
    been that perfect together?  If you were why didn't he leave his
    wife, like you would have left you SO?  
    
    RE:  3,000,000,000 men on the earth.
    How many are married?  I don't think she wants to go that route
    again....?  
    
    There is a book that read and re-read over again and again.  It
    is call "Letting Go".  I am sorry I don't know the author off hand
    but will write it down tonight.  Very good eye opening book.
    
    RE. Fall in love with someone else to forget.
    I feel that this is a good time for you to get to know yourself
    and like yourself before you fall for anyone else.  Go out and date
    and see what is out there.  If the click isn't there -- don't waste
    your time and don't be worried to say how you feel.  If you have
    a hard time saying what is on your mind -- don't worry this will
    come in time when you really know and like yourself with who you
    are.
    
    I can empathize with the pain you are going thru (it hurts worse
    than a knife in your back and I am sorry) but not for loosing
    a married man.

    Linda