The older I get, the more pressure I feel to be in a long-term relationship – and the harder it gets
I am a woman in my early 30s. I have a lot of anxiety about sex and relationships, which holds me back from forming the intimate connections I crave. I can appear confident in my day-to-day life but I’m very insecure and sensitive to rejection. I do have close friends but it can take years to build those relationships.
What I really miss at the moment is that long-term, intimate relationship that so many of my friends have. I’m even envious of my parents. I am online dating but take long breaks because of the emotional toll: I am distraught when it doesn’t work out, or if I think I have messed it up. The older I get, the more pressure I feel, and the harder it becomes.
Pamela Stephenson Connolly is a US-based psychotherapist who specialises in treating sexual disorders.
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