I'm back...unfortuantely

I'm back...unfortuantely

my_own_prison

Registrant
Well folks, it's been a few months but I have checked in from time to time. As some of you may recall, last time I was here I was discussing how my marriage was on the verge of failure. For most of you that probably don't recall, I will give you all a brief run down of what what problem was then.

For a couple of years now, I have recognized that I was not happy in my marriage and neither was my wife. I thought it was because I wasn't paying enough attention to her...(wrong)...I thought it was because I wasn't handsome enough or sexy to her.... (undeterminded) I tried to ask her to go to see a marriage counselor but she wasn't interested. Finally I had enough. The lack of intimacy in my marriage and the lack of a "partner" that cared enough about me to even put forth a credible effort drove me to ask for a separation. To complicate things even more, I fell in love with a co-worker who is also a CSA victim and a lesbian to boot. We didn't have a sexual affair, it was an emotional affair. While I know it was still wrong, she was replacing the missing emotional aspect of my marriage that I so longed for. I broke off the affair and re-commited to my wife that I would work on myself and she commited to me that she would work on herself. 6 months have past since that commitment. In that time, I have quit drinking, lost 15lbs and gotten into the best physical shape in my life. I took up Karate and continue to work on myself in both individual therapy and group therapy. I also have done my fair share of shelf help books.

My wife had for the past 7 years "distance" herself emotionally and physically from me. She claims its due to a very low libido and the fact that she grew up in an alcoholic family. The connection there was since I drank, I brought up bad memories for her. I addressed that 3 months ago and had been going along fine until last week.

I finally realized last week that my wife was still the same. While she is a tiny bit more receptive to my advances, she still leaves 100% of the intamacy up to me. She never pursues me, never sexually touches me and never ever cares about trying to saticefy me. I got depressed when I realized I was still unhappy and she asked me what was wrong. I was scared to tell her for fear of what her reaction would be but my therapist said that I had to be open and honest with her so I told her I would really like it if she would make an attempt to initiate intamacy once in awhile.

That went over like a led ballon. She said all I cared about was sex. She said that I didn't even acknowledge her efforts. She finally said that she was going to seek a divorce that there was nothing left to salvage since all I cared about was sex. The arguments got pretty ugly over the past couple of days. She asked me to leave but I refuse to leave my house and my three children. I told her she would have to server me with a warrant to get me out.

Why is sex so important to me? Am I abnormal to want my partner in life to desire me and make advances at me once in awhile? Am I abnormal to think that passion can be just as enjoyable with out having sex as long as you know the desire is sincere? Should I accept her the way she is and just plan on pleasuring myself for the rest of my life or should I just agree that her and I are incompatible and move on while trying to be the best dad that I can given the circumstances? Now I know that I have an extremely powerful libido and I'm sure that my CSA has something to do with that but I can't be totally off base by wanting a partner that is sincerely interested in me can I? Bottom line...I believe sex is important in a relationship. She doesn't.
 
I might not be the best qualified person in the world to answer this - but I'll offer an opinion.

Intimacy is tied to love, sure we can have sex with anyone, but true intimacy is surely a TWO way thing?
If we enter into a loving relationship, and intimacy follows, then I would think that both partners would want to be intimate. If one doesn't then I would say somethings missing.

Dave
 
Dear My Own,

Without coming off like Dr. Phil, it sounds like your wife might have some fairly heavy issues of her own, coming from an alcoholic family.
Wanting intimacy and sex is what marriage is all about, isn't it? Have you talked about this with your therapist? I mean he/she might have some good advice about how to figure out what's going on with your marriage.
You sound like you're working hard on yourself, which could be a plus for her, but if she doesn't care, you might want to reevaluate your options.

David
 
I am not married, I never have been married. I am in my first real relationship, and our 'relations' have not been too intimate or sexual yet for the most part. That is her having patience with me, not other way around.

That said though, I think if you are married, being intimate with each other should be considered part of the 'deal'. It sounds as though she does have her own issues, with her being from the alcoholic family and such. Perhaps, also, maybe it is something physical? Maybe she could be checked by a doctor, to see if there is something physical wrong with her, or if she is depressed or some such thing. It sounds as though her reactions are not of the 'normal' kind right now.

leosha
 
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