More than likely: everyone here is related in at least some small distant way XD Well, I am getting better at being assertive at work, to be fair; and each time one starts dating someone new it's easier to start from scratch with new rules on how you'll behave with that person. But for me the bigges...

County Clare? That's gas: that's where I'm from! My people are Clare, Limerick, and Wexford. Small, small world. I think that's a good approach. It's funny: when I was a kid, the merest mention of being uncomfortable with something was a cardinal sin, so even making little bids is quite a daunting t...

Heather, Yes, I remember you mentioning your Irish heritage before! I would now do the stereotypically Irish thing of asking where your people are from and trying to find if we have anyone in common, but this is not the platform for that obviously! XD I hear what you're saying. I actually do underst...

Sam W, Thank you for your response! This is true, and you make a good point about it being more of a casual given then a declaration. I would prefer to take things slowly with whomever I do end up going out with, not just for physical comfort, but also to give the relationship room to grow more natu...

Thank you all for your responses! I've been quite busy at work, hence the delayed reply. Onionpie, Thanks you! I suppose playing it by ear and gauging the situation is a good route to take. I also believe open communication is important, but I've only ever dated partners who put up big barriers arou...

Onionpie, Thank you for your response. I am not dating anyone yet, no, but the fear of the what-if is holding me back. I've had a few opportunities to date, but have deliberately passed them up because I haven't felt in the right place. I do, however, really like my coworker and would like to date h...

Hi all, First of all, thank you to all who helped me out with my last post: all of the support was very helpful, and greatly appreciated. Since my last post, where I was trying to sort out how I felt about my sexuality in general, I visited my local Rape Crisis Centre. Unfortunately for me, they hav...

I haven't ever really had problems with talking about depression and self-harm and things in a therapeutic environment, because it was something that was very obviously wrong and needed addressing. The whole sexuality and relationships thing was something I had very poor socialisation around, and as...

Thank you for your suggestions and support, Heather and Sam W. It's sort of a good thing that the service got so in demand that it crashed: it means that a lot of people are learning and getting the help they need from Scarleteen :) I have been feeling for some time that going to a professional to t...

Thank you for your replies, Heather and Sam W. There's a lot of questions in this reply: I'll do my best to not forget any. Firstly, yes: I was hoping you would have forgotten my existence by this point. I was a truly horrid person around that time. I was hoping to have forgotten about my existence ...

Thank you for your reply, Sam W. This is something I've been trying to work out for a very long time. When I was a teenager - before I made the decision to be sexually active - and had boyfriends, I had no problem with laying down rules when it came to the kinds of contact I was and was not okay wit...

Thank you for your reply, Mo, and apologies for the lateness. The annoying thing about this whole situation is I don't have any issues with my own sexuality outside relationships. I have no problem exploring my feelings and thoughts about how I behave sexually with myself. But add another person int...

First of all, thank you for having me on your forum, and for taking time to read this topic. I have had a very troublesome love life: I lost my virginity to a very unsuitable and emotionally manipulative person. Since then, I've gone out with men who have used sex as a weapon of control, and find it...