Need Some Advice in California

[Onysablet]

Hello, Just need some advice.
I have been poly all my life and have been in several poly relationships before.
i went through a crash and burn phase and ended up getting with a really good mono partner. Problem: for five years i have been mono with him, but unhappy. i talk to him about being poly and how not being poly affects me. he wants me to be only Mono and sees the poly side of me as like a sickness or lack of love for him. he doesn't want to read any books or seek council on this. i do love him in my own way, but i have been making a sacrifice to my own personal happiness. I do not think i can make him feel secure enough. we have been fighting about this for about three months. i would mention it once or twice a year but get only negative results which force me to conceal my poly further. now i cannot stand it any more and i keep pushing to get my needs met. am i wrong? should i break it off? i do not know what to do, just feel heart sick...

[MonoVCPHG]

Originally Posted by Onysablet

Hello, Just need some advice.
I have been poly all my life and have been in several poly relationships before.
i went through a crash and burn phase and ended up getting with a really good mono partner. Problem: for five years i have been mono with him, but unhappy. i talk to him about being poly and how not being poly affects me. he wants me to be only Mono and sees the poly side of me as like a sickness or lack of love for him. he doesn't want to read any books or seek council on this. i do love him in my own way, but i have been making a sacrifice to my own personal happiness. I do not think i can make him feel secure enough. we have been fighting about this for about three months. i would mention it once or twice a year but get only negative results which force me to conceal my poly further. now i cannot stand it any more and i keep pushing to get my needs met. am i wrong? should i break it off? i do not know what to do, just feel heart sick...

I think you should take a break. Go separate ways and explore people who fit your natures better. Do you really want to spend your life in agony because you are denying yourself other relationships? Is it fair to ask him to possibly subject himself to a life of agony over new relationships coming into your and his life?

Sometimes people are better off sharing certain aspects of themselves as opposed to all. Perhaps you would make better friends than lovers.

[redpepper]

I think I would give him one last shot; armed with information and books and be firm... "this is going to happen for me, either you are with me or not."

You are not "sick" you are quite normal. Give him some proof of that and make a statement by walking away. Either he will miss you so much he will start looking at the stuff you have brought to his attention or not; in which case it's good bye time.

[Onysablet]

Thanks for the advice.
any thoughts on a reasonable time line?

[redpepper]

Originally Posted by Onysablet

Thanks for the advice.
any thoughts on a reasonable time line?

that would be up to you to decide. What is your comfort with this? Would you be willing to change it if you find the time line is too long or too short... its all up to you.

[Onysablet]

We have been together for five years. i have always been honest with him about my wants but he has always expressed a lot of insecurity, so i always held off. i kind of thought that if we ease into it, as primary partners, then things would get better and he would feel less insecure as he saw that he was not being dumped for the other guy or girl. but he really just thought that i would grow out of this 'mood' and put the 'fantasy' of my past poly relationships behind me. he has been really good to me for five years thou, when i met him i was really self destructive because one of my prior partners was abusive. i have become a stronger person through his love and affection. but now, especially in the past two years, i have met a lot of really nice people and couples, with whom i would enjoy a poly relationship with. but my lover says no. i have been trying to get him to read, Opening Up, with me. but he really rejects book learning.
i am really thinking that ending it with him is the only thing i can do. he says he loves me but could never stand seeing me with another. i have been working on making him feel secure, but it never seems enough, i am bending over backwards to make him feel secure, but this forces me to sacrifice all my other friendships and only focus on him.
i have probably ancwered my own question, but is there a way to save this? or is there really no way to work with a person with such deep insecuritys?
poly is natural to me like all of my kink and stuff, but none of what i like is natural to him.
i guess i need to stop deluding my self that he will change.
answered my own question.

[unusuality]

Originally Posted by Onysablet

Thanks for the advice.
any thoughts on a reasonable time line?

My suggestion: NOW. Take it from someone married to someone who feels like your SO. I presented my thoughts of poly BEFORE I was married and she thought I was crazy! So because of my ignorance, I did too, and the desire lied dormant because I felt It just wasn't possible. Then, 2 years later I saw a show on TLC that gave a name to my desired relationship. Now, I'm feeling like you. If you wait any longer, you'll regret it. I promise you.

Try as you might, from what you wrote, he just dosen't seem like he's gonna come around. Move on, and find what you've been missing. DON'T STOP until you have the ones you want this time.

[Erin]

Onysablet:
We are both in the same boat as we are both in long-term relationships with partners who refuse. My husband makes me feel dirty if I bring it up, so I keep it buried deep inside. I believe The Big D is inevitable. What do you think you will do? The heartache is so aweful - I'm right there with ya.

Unusuality:
Are you referring to The Strange Sex episode on polyamory? The lightbulb went on in my head when I first saw it. Everything made sense to me after that.

Erin