Arranged marriages are different by design and are an apples/oranges sort of situation.

(And as an aside, part of why arranged marriages tend to work is because both parties recognize that they can’t just assume “love will get us through” and start from a position of “We’re gonna have to work hard at this to make this…

Being in an emotionally abusive relationship isn’t growth.

Hey Kirk, remember when I was laying odds on how quick we were gonna get this comment?

Referring to women as “females” definitely helps your credibility here...

...you realize saying it was statistically insignificant works against the point you’re trying to make, right?

Nobody deserves to be abused.

For the same reason why people go back to abusive parters. It can take a while to recognize how bad a situation is, and even then, you’ve got the emotional equivalent of the sunk-cost fallacy, feelings of self-worth and the hope that if you do the exact right things, everything will be better and this will be an…

That’s what I call The Grimer Test. With a h/t to Gentleman Johnny whom I’ve taken this from (with his permission:)

Mostly because a) I’m not a mod on here. And a good thing too because I would totally let the power go to my head as I do over on my site. “YOU WILL ADDRESS ME AS ‘YOUR SUPREME HIGHNESS, MAY YOUR PASSAGE CLEANSE THE WORLD’ BEFORE EVERY COMMENT OR FACE THE BANHAMMER.”

Let he with two free hands cast the first stone.

Isn’t it awesome?

“Sluts it up”

They’re long-distance after she got a job in a new city.

I’d leave off the “better than you” part. Better is subjective at best and the “quality” of a person (for suitable definitions of quality) doesn’t directly correspond with their dating success.

But hating on or having no sympathy for someone because they’re having results you aren’t is unproductive to say the least.

I covered that in the intro. The Falcon crosses half a galaxy in the same amount of time it takes the Enterprise to get to the nearest star at maximum warp.

Worth remembering that with therapists, as in dating, finding one you click with is important. And occasionally you get ones who are just straight-up holy shit BAD, like your last.

If it’s the case that it has anything to do with abuse, then that’s something best worked out with a therapist who specializes in such issues. It can be helpful to have a professional with experience guide you along instead of trying to grit your teeth and force yourself to get better through sheer power of will.

Love and sex are two different things. Sometimes they go together. Sometimes they don’t. Sexual compatibility is an important part of relationships, and sometimes that means being on the same page about who’s interested in sex, who isn’t and how you’re going to make that work.

And God knows there’re plenty of…

As pro-ethical non-monogamy as I am, open relationships aren’t for everyone. They require top notch communication and a great deal of trust and willingness to negotiate and compromise.

Depending on the form of open relationship, they can quickly become more complicated; in polyamory, f’rex, you’re balancing multiple…