[Stacey]

Relationships for me have always been more of a want than a need. I'm quite happy being single/on my own, I've always been incredibly independent and even when I'm in a relationship, my partner has to be aware that I need I fair amount of time alone/to do my own thing and be comfortable with that. I've come to realize I may fall a bit closer to demisexual on the sexuality spectrum so for me to be in a relationship there needs to be an attraction and a deeper emotional connection otherwise I'm often not interested.

Some of this has stemmed from childhood trauma, but even after dealing with most of my stuff throughout my 20s, I never got to a point of "needing" someone. I'm pretty introverted, I have a very small group of close friends and would almost always choose to stay home vs. going out to parties or other social events so I've always been at peace with being alone and only tend to get truly lonely when I'm experiencing a bout of extreme anxiety or depression, or I've been unable to talk to/see my best friends for a while.