Who initiates in your house??

I used to be the initiator 100% of the time. But, after being rejected 100% of the time, I stopped initiating.

My husband and I have had a lot of conversations about it. It's actually really hard for me to talk about because I start to get really teary over it. The response I get from him time and time again is that sex just isn't important to him. Honestly, I think he'd rather play a board game or hide out in his office planning his next Dungeons and Dragons encounter. He'll usually use the excuse that he's too tired but then he'll stay up for hours after I give up and go to bed.

Even though you acquiesce to your husband's needs, I can see where he's coming from. In the beginning, my hubby would still have sex with me once in a while (not nearly what I'd come to expect from previous relationships) but at least it was something. When you're the initiator 100% of the time, even if your partner is willing, it starts to sting.

At first, I wondered if it was me. I'd ask him all the time what I could be doing to make him desire me but he couldn't answer. I'm a very open-minded lover with a kinky streak so I tried and tried to see if maybe he was into something weird that he was ashamed to talk about. No dice.

I started to feel cheap each time I'd ask for sex. Rejection hurt but even when we did have sex, I'd feel this overwhelming sense of shame. Like I was a bad person for "making" my own husband sleep with me. Things would feel pleasurable in the moment and then I'd feel sick and sad and confused afterward because the act was so devoid of the truly passionate, emotional and physical connection I so desperately crave.

The longer we went between sexual encounters, the more I began to ask myself, "What's wrong with ME for needing sex so badly from someone who isn't interested???" I began to get more and more awkward when trying to initiate sex because things kept getting more and more rusty. The little sex we used to have wasn't worth phoning home about because we never got to fall into any kind of rhythm or sense of familiarity. And he could seemingly care less about getting to know what makes my body tick. He's certainly never expressed any curiosity or attempted any iota of foreplay.

It took a long time for me to accept that my husband's lack of desire is not my fault and that there isn't anything I can do to change that. Today, the thought of having sex with him seems almost absurd. I lost my desire for him when I began to see it wasn't mutual in the way I needed it to be. I will still give his ego positive strokes now and then and try to make him feel sexy because I feel that is my obligation as his wife and because I love him. But the part of me that lusted after him for so many years has died.

Unfortunately, that's not to say that my libido died. I feel trapped in a state of near-combustion every day. I have to be careful about who I make friends with because I'm terrified of being tempted by an affair. Particularly now that I have my body back because I'm cute and geeky in a way that makes a lot of guys crazy for me. I get depressed easily. I get moody and frustrated when I'm ovulating. I feel empty and guilty after masturbating because I wish I could turn that part of me off.

I always loved sex and have always needed a lot of physical attention. I thought I could learn to live with out it but it's turned out to be so much harder than I expected. I've actually scheduled an appointment with a shrink next week just to try and process it more.

Also...^^ this, perfectly said.

50 shades of grey!!!! READ IT!!!

A couple other options - Something Blue, Something Borrowed(short story collections), the Sleeping Beauty trilogy, the Black Dagger Brotherhood (vampires) and lots more!

Don't read the Sleeping Beauty trilogy and then do 30 Day Shred, though...because when you're doing the high knees, you'll be thinking about a certain scene from the book and it'll ruin your concentration :laugh:

ALSO: Guys are in the mood anytime & something has to put girls in the mood, whether its a thought, a look, a touch, whatever.

Ok--I have been married for 16 years and my husband threatened to leave me the other day because he is tired of always being the one to intiate sex. I rarely say no when he intiates--but I only am the aggressor maybe once ever couple of months.He said that he doesn't feel wanted.

I'm really trying to work on it but I can go quite awhile before I even think about it. I love my husband very much but we have alot of stress and it tends the be less on my priority list then his. But like I said--I don't hardly ever tell him no and we are together probably 4 or 5 times a week. What is the norm in your relationship?

After 16 years he is going to leave you over something as petty as that?
Obviously there are other problems.
Especially if you rarely turn him down.
But, to answer your question, my wife is usually the one who initiates.

I used to be the initiator 100% of the time. But, after being rejected 100% of the time, I stopped initiating.

My husband and I have had a lot of conversations about it. It's actually really hard for me to talk about because I start to get really teary over it. The response I get from him time and time again is that sex just isn't important to him. Honestly, I think he'd rather play a board game or hide out in his office planning his next Dungeons and Dragons encounter. He'll usually use the excuse that he's too tired but then he'll stay up for hours after I give up and go to bed.

Even though you acquiesce to your husband's needs, I can see where he's coming from. In the beginning, my hubby would still have sex with me once in a while (not nearly what I'd come to expect from previous relationships) but at least it was something. When you're the initiator 100% of the time, even if your partner is willing, it starts to sting.

At first, I wondered if it was me. I'd ask him all the time what I could be doing to make him desire me but he couldn't answer. I'm a very open-minded lover with a kinky streak so I tried and tried to see if maybe he was into something weird that he was ashamed to talk about. No dice.

I started to feel cheap each time I'd ask for sex. Rejection hurt but even when we did have sex, I'd feel this overwhelming sense of shame. Like I was a bad person for "making" my own husband sleep with me. Things would feel pleasurable in the moment and then I'd feel sick and sad and confused afterward because the act was so devoid of the truly passionate, emotional and physical connection I so desperately crave.

The longer we went between sexual encounters, the more I began to ask myself, "What's wrong with ME for needing sex so badly from someone who isn't interested???" I began to get more and more awkward when trying to initiate sex because things kept getting more and more rusty. The little sex we used to have wasn't worth phoning home about because we never got to fall into any kind of rhythm or sense of familiarity. And he could seemingly care less about getting to know what makes my body tick. He's certainly never expressed any curiosity or attempted any iota of foreplay.

It took a long time for me to accept that my husband's lack of desire is not my fault and that there isn't anything I can do to change that. Today, the thought of having sex with him seems almost absurd. I lost my desire for him when I began to see it wasn't mutual in the way I needed it to be. I will still give his ego positive strokes now and then and try to make him feel sexy because I feel that is my obligation as his wife and because I love him. But the part of me that lusted after him for so many years has died.

Unfortunately, that's not to say that my libido died. I feel trapped in a state of near-combustion every day. I have to be careful about who I make friends with because I'm terrified of being tempted by an affair. Particularly now that I have my body back because I'm cute and geeky in a way that makes a lot of guys crazy for me. I get depressed easily. I get moody and frustrated when I'm ovulating. I feel empty and guilty after masturbating because I wish I could turn that part of me off.

I always loved sex and have always needed a lot of physical attention. I thought I could learn to live with out it but it's turned out to be so much harder than I expected. I've actually scheduled an appointment with a shrink next week just to try and process it more.

AM: My man
PM: Me

:O)