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I'm hopeful this works?

NDbaard

New Member
I should start by prefacing this by saying I do not have autism nor am I on the spectrum whatsoever. However, I am neurodivergent (c-ptsd, emotional regulation issues and a whole slew of other issues due to growing up in long term abuse/still living in it). My boyfriend is the one who suffers from aspergers, and heavily from the depressional undertones of it. I tried to talk about this on a neurotypical forum regarding getting back together but everyone's answers provided no real feedback or told me to just leave him be.

We are/were long distance, both in our early 20s, and were officially together for nearly 2 years with a year of friendship (with me having feelings as he wasn't emotionally ready yet) before getting together. He dropped this on me out of nowhere not even a week after discussing what we are going to do about my visa situation and when I would be moving over after my last year of uni. At first he simply said he needed a break/space and time to figure out his emotions and head. Ultimately, I tried to deny it and bargain/ask for a second chance but that resulted in him panicking and repeatedly saying he can't do this anymore before telling me he wants to break it off cleanly. As he put it, he felt trapped and miserable. Our relationship was good, we were constantly in contact and I even flew out to be with him for the entire month of June. The only problem that seemed to cause this all is that I've currently gone none professionally treated (I've started looking into help, have intake paperwork and just need to schedule for an assessment) for a couple years as I aged out of children's insurance coverage. Which led to fits of paranoia, mood swings, and me to need a lot more intimacy/time together than he did. It made our arguments hell whenever I would go into an episode (which was often towards the end), and my home life definitely had a play in this as it made me thoroughly miserable. Ultimately, it ended with me being miserable due to the constant abuse at home then lashing out at him and in turn making him miserable. We both agreed we still love each other, and that seeing other people is out if the question for a long while, and we also agreed to stay in each others lives. We agreed on both of us needing to seek professional help. I asked if we could see where things our in a few months, once both of us have had time to start fixing ourselves, and asked if we could be together again. He replied with "I hope so, but I don't want to get your hopes up and say yes".

I know the break up is my fault, he's told me he was unhappy before but we never discussed seeking mental wellness treatment/we seemed to go in circles. I was insufferable, clingy, and too much to handle. Recently, we decided to come up with a schedule of days that were solely dedicated to spending time with me and I really thought that was going to help then he dropped this on me. I can tell he's my person and that we're meant to be together? I'm just... Not sure how to approach him about this because he's in the mindset of "I'm always going to be this miserable and nothing is going to change". He's given me entirely confusing signals as well? Telling me to keep the shirt he gave me to sleep with instead of binning it, saying he's going to keep "the cute pictures of your face", and retreating into himself/turning cold like the last time he was incredibly stressed/depressed due to outside circumstances.
 
Let's flip the coin over, to see what is on the other side. Is there anything positive, constructive, happy, supportive, close, together?
 
Let's flip the coin over, to see what is on the other side. Is there anything positive, constructive, happy, supportive, close, together?

I think both of us agreeing to finally seek out counseling/medication is a positive and constuctive? Our entire relationship, while over all very good and supportive of each other, has been a constant push and pull between our differing diagnosis...

Since I've been back (less than a month, I flew back July 9th) the transition back into being long distance hit me particularly hard and I was very unhappy for the first week but I was slowly starting to adjust back to it.
 
I really and truly don't think it's your "fault" - you are dealing with a lot of things, and it will take time and unfold in stages. With that said, it's unfair to try to keep someone who has decided that they want to leave. Insisting on your views and your ideas about the situation and solution should somehow influence him away from his is completely understandable, but it doesn't respect his own boundaries and personhood. I think you need more healing before you are capable of laying down the grounds and boundaries for a healthy relationship - that is only my totally unprofessional opinion as a person who doesn't even know you. It's not fair to expect this other person to have to accompany you on this journey against his will. If you were married, then presumably both of you made the commitment to stick it out forever, but outside of that, the other person maybe can't cope already, can't cope with anymore, even if it's just the journey through therapy. A lot of folks come on here asking about how to keep a guy who wants to leave, and I totally get it - I've been there! But ultimately, I think it's better to just respect what that other person wants. And if anything says, "but, but, but" - our "buts" don't outweigh the other person's "buts" for why they want out or can't handle it. Maybe he would wind up so stressed that he would need therapy to deal with it even while you got help - only he can say for himself what he can and can't handle, what he does or doesn't want to handle or commit to. I'm sorry for your situation, and I wish you the best.
 
I really and truly don't think it's your "fault" - you are dealing with a lot of things, and it will take time and unfold in stages. With that said, it's unfair to try to keep someone who has decided that they want to leave. Insisting on your views and your ideas about the situation and solution should somehow influence him away from his is completely understandable, but it doesn't respect his own boundaries and personhood. I think you need more healing before you are capable of laying down the grounds and boundaries for a healthy relationship - that is only my totally unprofessional opinion as a person who doesn't even know you. It's not fair to expect this other person to have to accompany you on this journey against his will. If you were married, then presumably both of you made the commitment to stick it out forever, but outside of that, the other person maybe can't cope already, can't cope with anymore, even if it's just the journey through therapy. A lot of folks come on here asking about how to keep a guy who wants to leave, and I totally get it - I've been there! But ultimately, I think it's better to just respect what that other person wants. And if anything says, "but, but, but" - our "buts" don't outweigh the other person's "buts" for why they want out or can't handle it. Maybe he would wind up so stressed that he would need therapy to deal with it even while you got help - only he can say for himself what he can and can't handle, what he does or doesn't want to handle or commit to. I'm sorry for your situation, and I wish you the best.

Thank you for your words, they really do mean a lot. Looking back on it, we didn't really set limits and boundaries in any form for either of our conditions; Mostly due to the fact that I wasn't ?? entirely aware of just how easily overstimulated he was and how much alone time he truly needed. Yeah... the other person wants friendship with some distance between us for however long it takes until both of us are in a healthier mindset, I'm going to respect his wishes as best as I can.
 

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