Tuffgirl...we're cut from the same cloth. I'm the fixer, the carer, the beautifyer...dunno why, but it's always been that way. Now that I'm free from my toxic relationship with my EXAH, I'm trying something new: I'm trying to find good healthy FRIENDS before I try to look for a healthy partner. I figure it's easier and safer for me, emotionally speaking, to try my hand at friendships than it is at relationships. Even though it feels weird to me, I do my best to examine my motivations whenever I seek out someone, and I look closely at what kind of person they are...are they some kind of emotional vampire, ready to gobble me whole, or are they someone who can contribute to my life as much as I can contribute to theirs? Going through this process has helped me eliminate unhealthy people in my life or at the very least, limit their influence on me...
It's a work in progress.
Thanks for the post TG. I really needed to read it today.