And I HAVE been in several R's with men who were physically disabled in one way or another, a situation that becomes more common as you get older.
So, Cobra, you are right-- brilliant, in fact!-- he does love me, he wants to be able to initiate, but his ED (and emotional issues) prevent him from doing so.
[For those who haven't memorized my BOOKS thread, when a man is impotent, he has sexual thoughts, but his penis does not respond as a normal penis does when its owner has sexual thoughts. Because the penis does not respond, the ED guy concludes that he is NOT aroused... in fact, he is NOT physically aroused, and to him, physical arousal was always the signal that it was time to have sex. No hard penis = no interest in having sex. ED breaks the self-reinforcing feedback loop: sexy thought or sight-erection - feeling aroused - more sexy thoughts - harder E - time to have sex. The physical incapacity caused by ED can make a guy think he is no longer turned on by his partner, and this can cause him to conclude he isn't in love with her anymore, she's too fat, he needs a new partner, etc.]
This is great... many new perspectives today...
Mojo wrote
Quote: most of us have never been in a situation in which we had a partner with a severe physical disability we would like to think we would be all noble and understanding in that situation. I think in the real world...
I'm sure you'd like the opportunity to rephrase this... I assure you that the world of physical disability is quite real... in fact, honey, the longer you live, the closer you are getting to it... It would be good to become noble and understanding NOW so you'll be in practice when it happens...
edited to add: Alzheimer's is not a good example because it is the mental aspect that is changed-- other mental conditions that change the personality, or make the person emotionally inaccessible AS YOU KNEW THEM are not good examples. We're talking mostly about physical disability here.
