Hey Jariel,
My situation is quite similar. My ex girl is a nice good girl, she did not cheat, loved me to death ( I still believe this to be true). I too re-read some of our texts messages from a year ago the other day and it was shocking to see how in love she was with me and how I did not give a fvck about it. Now I realize she was going through what I have been the past 2 months - a very hard period of trying to cope with this addiction I have - the addiction being her.
She was also going through a tough, tough period a year ago, but so was I. I kept my issues to myself as a man should but she started behaving a bit odd - acted desperate and suspicious of me cheating on her. That pushed me away from her and I more or less dumped her. Then we got together "being only friends with benefits". But I had never stopped loving her.
I needed to just support her more back then and simply realize that she is just a woman and her emotions were running wild and what I had to do was just be the solid foundation that she could lean on. That is what being a man is after all I think. But I acted blinded by my pride and vanity, could not accept her behaviour and alienated myself from the relationship, became aloof and detached. She suffered a lot because of this.
After becoming friends with benefits she gradually moved on after meeting somebody at her job. I was not aware and still continued having my hopes that we will again meet each other somewhere in the middle of our tumultuous on-and-off relationship (we both have a lot of pride - even to a foolish extent). My hopes were mainly based on the beauty and (at least the perceived) uniqueness of what we had back in the beginning of our relationship. Granted she (and I) were a bit different back then and the excitement and the spontaneity of the sparks between us were even a bit magical.
So, yes, sometimes you do need to make a compromise or two with your foolish pride and childishness, it does not always happen as in the DJ bible and not every girl out there is out to get us, guys
There are truly good ones out there who are worth our getting rid of parts of our ego and pride and who deserve our hearts and love (in its purest form - ie the sincere caring of the well-being of another person).
Almost 2 months have passed since she left my country. I can say now that I feel way more stable, at times it still hurts like hell but the pain has receded and is not as sharp as before, my desire for life and what it can offer me has all but returned, I see hope and I feel comfortable being alone, I am not desperate for a woman in my life, I need to be happy with myself first and to find once again my self-worth and my inner peace and happiness. This is something worth striving for and worth fighting for.
It may take a while but I am hopeful I will pull through.
I am not bitter anymore, if my ex girl contacts me I will reply. Will be polite and short on words, and will try to have a smile on my face. What we had was great, it just ended. I am beginning to accept it, it is only part of life. I think I am ready to move on. More positivity in my life is what I have always needed it turns out. This heartbreak showed me that, this forum and all the help I found through friends and the internet showed me that.
Positivity and self-belief, happiness from within, these are not just some catchphrases I believe. We all can be happy only if we choose to be. I believe that. I have a long way to go to apply that to my life though.
Thanks for all the help, guys. Stay strong!