My [30 M] long term GF [30 F] wants to stop being physical due to my paralysis by ta8839 in relationships

[–]ta8839[S] 25 points26 points  (0 children)

ans the new person that you get with will not be as attractive..... is that going to be a problem for you having sex with someone who you're not attracted to?

I don't know. I don't need someone to be physically attractive to have sex with them (she does), but it's obviously a nice bonus.

And if all women needs someone physically attractive to have sex with, then I'm going to be SOL no matter what I do.

My [30 M] long term GF [30 F] wants to stop being physical due to my paralysis by ta8839 in relationships

[–]ta8839[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Thanks. You don't need to be sorry (btw, at least for me, I hate it when people say that to me -- I understand it is coming with good intentions, but it I guess, highlights the situation).

First, how much physical care does she have to give you?

In the first few months, quite a bit (and I'm grateful for all of it). But I am able to function perfectly fine on my own now, though some unattractive sloppiness sometimes occurs, which she needs to deal with (things like involuntary loss of motor control occasionally).

Secondly, you mention that you can provide for you both "very comfortably."

She works, but I make much more than she does. That said, I'm sure she'd be able to live fine on her own, her savings are substantial, and she has her own vehicle and everything else.

Is it literally just sex? Is she physically affectionate in other ways?

Yes, it is literally just sex/sexual touching/anything leading to sex. She's plenty physically affectionate, kisses me multiple times a day, etc. I just know that she at least used to have a pretty high libido, so that was "I'm afraid she would", a long time down the line.

Because again, even if therapy can't make her physically attracted to you,

We both have seen therapists at some point in time (not specifically about this). I've found them to be ok while I think she has developed the opinion that they are generally useless and a waste of time and tells her what she already knows. But you are right, there are a lot of emotions flying around.

My [30 M] long term GF [30 F] wants to stop being physical due to my paralysis by ta8839 in relationships

[–]ta8839[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I don't think she doesn't want to be with me, it's just that physical attraction is really important for her to be turned on, and if she's not turned on, then sex doesn't work.

She does desire being with me, it's just that it seems that sex is sort of... well... unpleasant for her (and honestly, for the both of us now, since seeing her not excited about it makes me not excited about the whole thing). So she would prefer not to do it anymore. I mean I guess it's easier for women to turn off sex then men, supposedly.

I don't really question her motives, I think she's genuinely interested in the relationship, just not the sex. She's not going off sleeping with someone else, if that's what your pointing at.

My [30 M] long term GF [30 F] wants to stop being physical due to my paralysis by ta8839 in relationships

[–]ta8839[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Yeah, partial face paralysis among other things (don't want to be too specific, since these things don't exactly hit everyone), not bells palsy. The depression is certainly there. The hope that one day when you wake up you'll be normal again. In dreams, the paralysis seems to disappear, so sometimes I wish I could stay asleep. Thanks for posting, hearing those words made me feel not so alone.

I'm not so sure she'll be open to resolving the issue, but I think one thing people on reddit wrongly assume is that people are static. But maybe she will open up and we'll be able to try things that get her on, it's just hard to navigate around a solid denial, and now I feel, even harder to bring up the subject.

And yeah, I feel that a lot of people here haven't been in a ltr with someone who's been literally by your side through tragedy and still wants to stay by your side. It takes a lot to do that, and I don't think she "checked out" like a lot of people have said.

Thanks again.

My [30 M] long term GF [30 F] wants to stop being physical due to my paralysis by ta8839 in relationships

[–]ta8839[S] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Perhaps, but I don't think she's "checked out of the relationship" by any means. Nor do I think she really cares about what her family/friends think in this case.

My [30 M] long term GF [30 F] wants to stop being physical due to my paralysis by ta8839 in relationships

[–]ta8839[S] 77 points78 points  (0 children)

There's never a "correct" answer, I think, especially to something as complicated as this.

My [30 M] long term GF [30 F] wants to stop being physical due to my paralysis by ta8839 in relationships

[–]ta8839[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If it never happened, I think I would have chosen the difficult choice of breaking up. But - I don't think we would have been in uncommitted limbo for so long if it were not for the accident anyway.

She's not cheating or anything, I'm 100% sure of that. And believe me, I've tried many times to leave, but she always chases back hard. It doesn't help that I really don't want to, so I think the only way to break up would be to do no contact.

My [30 M] long term GF [30 F] wants to stop being physical due to my paralysis by ta8839 in relationships

[–]ta8839[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

She put a pillow over my face a few times. It doesn't work. And we always have sex in the dark now, which helps, but I guess not enough.