Hey Mitch,
For us I guess we are fed with what its like to be in a relationship is from the media. There is no escaping it. Everyday there is something on the radio, in print, in music, on tv, or just walking though a crowded shopping centre. We see the benefits and pitfalls of a relationship and, for us, the benefits outweigh the pitfalls. We want to loved, cared for, and feel the liberation of what its like to be in a relationship. It looks amazing and I'd imagine it would feel amazing to be in one as well.
Like you, I don't know the intricacies of what others lives are like, but humans have a funny way of having some core things in common. Like what I said in the previous paragraph. Most of us have this need to be loved and I think thats what we both want. Sorry to put words in your mouth Mitch!
I'm glad to hear that you have been working on yourself and maybe that's the only way to go. I have only just started to work on myself and I am having a bit of a rough day today. I have work which is not a helpful distraction and only makes things worse. Works don't really understand mental illness that much so I am essentially on my own in this regard.
I think a healthy way of living is to continually improve on yourself, no matter how well you are doing in life. Continuous improvement so that you never get complacent with where you are at in your life. I am trying to do that at the moment.
I thought I would add this because I think this would be of interest to you Mitch but next week I will go in to meet the team leaders to discuss body image/sexual health and are they well understood in the public health system? My opinion is that they don't. There isn't anything out there for people to access support in regards to poor body image and sexual health. There are no support groups and the dialogue between clinicians and clients doesn't always seem to be that supportive on the topic. I believe there needs to be some reform on the issue where we can start making changes to young peoples lives before this becomes overwhelming later on. We are apparently in the normal distribution in terms of young men who have never had a girlfriend but seriously, who would know that? Even if a clinician told you that how would reassured would you really be if no one in your life felt the same way? I certainly wasn't. That's going to be my thesis in getting some more support for this. If you had any ideas I would be happy to talk about them as well
