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Getting over infatuation with someone who wasn't real

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Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 71 total)
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  • #148691
    laelithia
    Participant

    Hello Everyone,

    I’m really struggling getting over my last relationship. I met a man online, and we chatted (text, snapchat, phone calls) constantly every day for 2 weeks before we planned to meet (he lives almost 3 hours away). Eventntually we did meet, and it was wonderful. I have never felt so strongly for someone so quickly in my whole life (I’m 28, he’s 31). We spent the weekend together, and after going home a few days, he let me know he would have to be away for work for 2 weeks, but he didn’t have to leave until that Friday. So, crazily, he came back to see me and we spent another few days together. This time I was really dedecestated when he had to leave.

     

    Fast forwaed 2 weeks while he was away for work, and again we were talking constantly. I was truly falling for this man, and we were even beginning to plan our future together (including babies and marriage!). I thought it was a bit fast, but I was so smitten, I could hardly believe I had finally found a good, attractive, commitment friendly man. After his 2 weeks away, I went to visit him in his city for the weekend. It was wonderful again to see him, but we did have a few silly arguments (usually after having too much to drink). Anyway, when I got back home, I noticed his contact was far less than before. I pointed this out, and before I knew it, my perfect man was saying he wasn’t sure if he was ready for a relationship after all. This after he had been the one pushing for things to move so quickly.

     

    It’s now been 2.5 weeks since that conversation, and he has let me know since then that he has a history of doing this with women, and heartbreakingly, he has already done this with 2 (almost 3 now) women since me. I know I should be greatful that things ended, that he isn’t the person he pretended to be, but I can’t seem to get over the intense infatuation I felt for this man. I miss the caring, attentive, wonderful man he was to me. The person he is now is not someone I would want to be with, but I wake up each morning missing who I thought he was, missing his lovely “good morning baby!” messages. I feel lost and confused, and I’m not sure how to get out of this rut. Even though I know he’s been with several women since me, I can’t stomach the idea of dating someone else when I felt so close, so attached and safe with him. Nothing feels right anymore, and I’m worried this will take a long time to move on from, when all I wanted was to find a committed partner to begin building a life with.

     

    Is there anything I can do to speed up the healing process? I feel just as horribly as I did when it all came crashing down weeks ago.

    #148707
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Dear Lauren:

    You wrote: “I can’t seem to get over the intense infatuation I felt for this man. I miss the caring, attentive, wonderful man he was to me”-

    You found out that he is not a “caring, attentive, wonderful man” – your rational mind found that out, but your emotional mind didn’t catch on to that understanding yet. It is not unusual.

    The healing process is about bringing our emotional understanding and our rational understanding to a meeting place. You suggested in the title of your thread that he is not real. Your perception of him was a misperception. But what is real is that you need the kind of a man you thought he was. The information, the learning you can gather from this experience is: what kind of a man you need. Your intense infatuation to this man is proportional to the match between what you need and who you thought he was.

    You can take notes, if you so choose, about who you thought he was, as a template to what you will be looking for in a future boyfriend. Processing that information, getting more clarity about what you are looking for, will make a future evaluation of a man more likely to be accurate (over a longer time of evaluation of the man, with less assumptions and more gathering of information, a more objective process).

    This very learning can speed up your healing process.

    anita

    #148955
    laelithia
    Participant

    Hi Anita,

    Thank you so much for your detailed response. It is so helpful! I think deep down I know you are right, yet I can’t seem to get out of the deep disappointed that all the wonderful things he promised me are not going to come true. I can’t help but feel like it was something (or a few things) that I did that made him change his mind about me being “the one”. I think he really has some emotional work to do to figure out why he jumps from woman to woman, but somehow I keep thinking that he was so good to me for over a month, that he talked so much about the future and how excited he was to be with me, that I feel like something about how I acted last time I saw him changed his mind. It also really hurts that he’s now “taking it slow” and “learning from his mistakes” with this new woman he’s interested in now. I don’t understand why he wasn’t willing to do the same with me?

    #148969
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Dear laelithia:

    You are very welcome. This whirlwind, short (three get togethers only, a weekend, a few days and the last time, a day of a few) was perfect, like a movie.

    You found out that “he jumps from woman to woman”- it may very well be a rush for him, take it all the way to talking about marriage and children and a happily-ever-after future and … two hours, the movie is over. The End.

    It was a rush for you too, wasn’t it? Maybe like an adventure park ride, fast, up and down, the wind in your hair, exciting, and…  over before you know it. I suppose you had such a good time on that ride you want to go back there. I think I understand that.

    What makes you think that he is now “taking it slow” with another woman? And… “slow” means what, do you know?

    anita

    #149103
    laelithia
    Participant

    Hi Anita,

    You’re totally right, I think if I’m honest it was more of a rush than anything. I had hoped it would last longer, that it could develop into more, but after talking with him, I can see that was never really his true intent. I truly believe now that he knew what he was doing, that he purposely lead me on to fool me into becoming close with him.

     

    Well, he said on the phone that he was taking it slow with this new woman, and not rushing into things like he did with me. However, after giving it some thought, I don’t believe he’s had enough time to change into being ready for a committed relationship. I’m sure he’ll woo this new woman as intensely as he did me, and probably move on quickly too.

     

    It saddens me that there are people like this out there, and I really wish I had been more careful before I gave my heart away.

     

    Thank you again for listening!

    L

    #149123
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Dear laelithia:

    You make a lot of sense to me, in your last post. I trust your thinking there. Seems like he is dishonest, and that he manipulated you for his own gain. It is a shame that there are people like that. Unfortunately, there are plenty. And because you learned he is dishonest, anything and everything he communicates to you from now on is suspect. Is what he says true? Maybe, maybe not.

    You learned who he is, you learned how good that ride felt and you learned, I hope, that you can’t trust a fast ride as a good way to get to know a man.

    So you are still in contact with him? For what purpose?

    anita

    #149339
    laelithia
    Participant

    Hi Anita,

    I think what bothers me the most is that when we  were together, he didn’t behave in these awful ways that is now. For instance, he didn’t flirt/chat with other women, deleted tinder in front of me, all those sorts of things so I think part of me is stuck hoping that “good” version of him will come back and how he is now was just a phase and not the other way around.

     

    I’m trying my best not to be in contact with him anymore (it’s been 5 days, it’s a start!) but I was still following him on social media. I’ve now deleted him, as he just posted a picture of himself which gave me such a pang of pain and a desire to text him, just to talk about anything, but I didn’t. Especially seeing all the new girls liking this picture and seeing all the pictures of girls he likes, when he doesn’t like any of mine anymore. I know these things should not bother me at all, in fact I find it silly that they do. He was never really active at all on social media when we were together, and now it seems like he’s revelling in all the female attention he’s getting now.

     

    It all still feels so surreal, it feels like just yesterday he was looking me in the eyes lovingly saying he would never want another woman other than me. It really bothers me that he reassured me so many times that what he’s currently doing he would never do. I really believed him, as silly as that is.

    #149343
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Dear laelithia:

    You got emotionally attached to him (and no wonder, the words he told you repeatedly and convincingly!) and it is hard to let go of a strong attachment. Your heart still wants what it wants and sometimes your heart twists your thinking in its desperation to get what it wants. An example of such twisting of thinking is that he is currently in a phase, and the way he was with you was the real him.

    It feels so surreal, you wrote. I think it will feel surreal for a while until you put enough distance between you and that experience. Deleting him from social media, no longer being exposed to his photos and ongoing activity, will help in creating that distance you need so that you heal from this experience.

    Post again anytime.

    anita

    #149351
    laelithia
    Participant

    Hi Anita,

    Thanks again so much for your input on this. I think you’re absolutely right that my emotional reasoning seems to be fighting with my logical reasoning.

    I’ve noticed lately that I’ve been obsessing over one particular statement that he said on that last phone call. When I asked him what he thought caused him to suddenly loose interest, he first said he thought it “sort of just played itself out”, and that he realized after a few weekends together he realized that us being together “wasn’t going to happen” and he said “I just don’t think I want that (a relationship) with you, I’m sorry”.

    What has been bothering me, is that he wouldn’t say why he specifically didn’t want a relationship with me. I think at this point it’s the closure that I’m looking for, the reason why he no longer saw value in being with me. I think if I truly knew that, even if it was something silly or that I didn’t agree with, I could stop obsessing about it. I think what really bothers me is that it seemed to be such a drastic change, but perhaps I’m missing the bigger picture, I’m not really sure anymore.

    #149353
    laelithia
    Participant

    I guess what I’m really wanting to know is if he was lying the whole entire time, or if he actually did feel “smitten” with me at first, and then changed his mind. I’m not sure why this is important to me, but it really seems to be.

    #149357
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Dear laelithia:

    You wrote: “he first said he thought it ‘sort of just played itself out'”- that means he was playing, doesn’t it.

    It “played itself out” because it was a game he was playing. Like I wrote to you before, it reads to me that you had the misfortune of getting involved with a dishonest man. He probably enjoyed the game (what I referred to as an adventure part ride, earlier), so he was having fun. But he knew all along it was a ride, not bothering to care about you getting hurt when he chose to get off the ride; when it…” sort of just played itself out”.

    His dishonesty and game playing is not an indication of your worth as a woman, or as a person, and it is nothing you did wrong.

    * will be back to the computer in about ten hours or so. Take good care of yourself.

    anita

    #149359
    Susannah
    Participant

    Dear laelithia,

     

    just a short note. How could he have been sincerely smitten in the beginning? If it is real, it does not disappear. It is dangerous to think that maybe he truly was smitten in the beginning; it makes you think that something you did (or did not do) made it disappear. That is not true. People like him are coldhearted players. Move on, girl! 🙂

     

    #149459
    laelithia
    Participant

    Hi Anita,

    You’re right. I think deep down I have the answers I’m searching for, I just don’t want to have to believe the awful truth. It’s scary, knowing there are people out there like that, and that they are so convincing. I can’t believe someone, this “player” I fell for, would spend all that time convincing me I was special, making playlists for me, giving me gifts and writing me sweet letters, and messaging me all day long all for a game. I could never do that to someone, so I think I’m having a hard time believing he did.

    I’ve been struggling too with this not affecting my self worth, I know it shouldn’t. Part of me just can’t understand why someone like him (he’s not very educated, has a decent job but doesn’t take it too seriously, does drugs for fun, etc.) would reject me (I’m 28, attractive, have a professional career, master’s education, financially secure). I was talking to my dad about this, and he said it would be like someone offering him a very expensive and valuable bottle of wine. He would appreciate it, but ultimately wouldn’t value it as it should be because he doesn’t like/want alcohol. I see the point of the metaphor, so I’m trying not to take it personally.

    The last issue I’m still struggling with is the physical attraction. I’m disgusted with his behaviour and his “true colours”, but somehow I still find him physically attractive, so much so that I’m worried I will ever be as physically attracted to anyone else. I really hope it isn’t the case, but just my luck that he was the exact image of my “type”. I hate that I’m being so superficial and shallow, especially with all the pain he’s caused me, but somehow my emotional and physical needs seem to be totally seperate. It’s so frustrating!

    #149461
    laelithia
    Participant

    Hi Susannah,

    You make an excellent point. I think because I was truly smitten, I projected that belief onto him (although he did lie and say he was to me numerous times) instead of really objectively observing his behaviour rather than his words. If he was truly smitten for me, you’re right, he wouldn’t have just moved on to the next list of girls so quickly and easily.

    He had said to me in the past he had moved on to new relationships quickly to distract himself, but I believed him when he said he was certain he wasn’t doing that with me. He said that I was special, “one of a kind”, and that he knew I was the one for him. After it all ended, it was like he had forgotten he had said any of it to me. I hate thinking that he knew what he was doing all along, that he knew I was going to get hurt. The ad thing he said to me was “I apologize for it all L… I do feel like a piece of sh*t”. Which I suppose means that he is acknowledging what he did was wrong and not simply a case of him changing his mind. It really stings, but I suppose this is what I need to truly move on.

    #149521
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Dear laelithia:

    When reality is painful, we often choose to reject reality and instead.. we edit reality, reformulate it so it is less painful. Problem is, reality stays what it is regardless of our mental editing of it. And when we edit reality, we fail to learn from it. The editing relieves us from the distress of “the awful truth. It’s scary, knowing there are people out there like that, and that they are so convincing”, only temporarily.

    Seeing and staying with the truth, unedited allows us to learn and function better in the future, making avoidable pain and suffering way less likely. This is a long term benefit.

    I think I understand your father’s metaphor. It wasn’t that you were not good enough for him being “28, attractive, have a professional career, master’s education, financially secure,” but that what he values is the fun of the ride. You had value for him as long as the ride was fun. His focus is on the fun he is having, not on your education, professional life and financial security.

    Regarding the physical attraction- I suppose if you tried, you could spend time with him sexually, sooner or later. But what would be the cost of that pleasure, to you?

    anita

     

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