Struggles you had/have trouble overcoming...

I'd say I'm still struggling to overcome myself, if that makes any sense. No matter what anyone says or thinks, I'll always be my own worst enemy, and my number one critic. It's something no one wants to deal with, but I think most of us have to at some point in life.

To this day I think the healthiest thing I did in that relationship was set up boundaries, things like "Lets not talk about serious things too late at night when we both have jobs to get to in the morning at 7AM" After almost getting into two accidents coming back home from work the day before when I got 3 hours of sleep the night before. The response was "I'm sorry my mental illness isn't convenient to you." I think that's what makes me the most upset. Using your mental illness against someone. There's a difference between a warning and blatantly using it against someone.

Like I'll admit I've had a lot of rough shit happen to me, but at the same time before I get into a relationship w someone wayyyy before deciding if we're partners, I'll let them know the stuff I've been through. I'll let them know of my diagnoses, since I really only have three. From there I let them decide if it's okay for them to want to proceed. Some people don't want to deal w that baggage and I get that.

The biggest struggle I've had to overcome is just dealing with emotions and whatnot. When I was younger I didn't bother talking about emotions, I didn't let myself cry and I would end up ruminating on things. A few relationships ended up not working out because I was so out of tune with my emotions and other people's emotions that I couldn't even see when I was being an asshole or too domineering. I found emotionally sensitive people to be irritating too back then because of those issues. Now I've done a lot of growing mentally and I learned to deal with that stuff in a healthy way, taking the lead in resolving misunderstandings or issues in the relationship rather than getting frustrated with THEM for not understanding ME, and more importantly being more sensitive to the other person's emotions and how my actions might impact them. I'd say the biggest test of my growth as a person both mentally and emotionally has been the girl I'm dating now, she's probably the most sensitive person I know but I don't feel like I'm walking on eggshells around her or anything. I actually admire how in tune she is with her and the emotions of others since I've learned to admire those with the qualities I lack instead of just scrutinizing them over things I don't understand. There has been bumps in the road where the younger me would have just cut things off and ended it though because I would have figured that she was just being "too irrational" and wasn't worth my time. To be honest there more than likely would be more bumps in the future also, but now? I can definitely see myself overcoming them.

@Fruit Loop, you're right. Unfortunately, finding that person who loves you for you is very hard. It's harder for some than others too, depending on what kind of person you are.

Hey, I feel ya. Dated my ex for 8 years before she left, took me the last year and a half to get over it, and you know what? She's still my best friend, always will be. Not every girl will come around, no matter how close you are. Sometimes what's done is done.