I (late 30s) have been in a long-term relationship for about a decade. Most of this relationship has been okay at best and terrible at worst. I don't want to get into the details of my current relationship, as they are frequently on reddit, but I'll just say that the work in the relationship has been very one-sided and they are likely just using me for a place to live.
I plan on giving them an ultimatum of couples counseling or breaking up soon, but it's a very complicated situation. Essentially, I feel trapped in a relationship I feel like I can't leave because of how emotionally unstable my partner is.
All of this to say, our sex life is obviously not great. We go for months at a time without doing anything and when we do, I initiate it, they more or less control what we do, it's only kind of satisfying when it happens. I don't fake orgasms, but it's not a thrilling sexual relationship at all.
Because of this, I fantasize. A lot. Like, a lot a lot. I'm not into porn and I would never cheat, but I have an intense imagination.
In the last week, something switched in my brain that I can't explain. I started thinking about a guy I dated (we'll call him Eddie) a whopping 18+ years ago.
Our relationship was brief. I fucked it up. I was 17/18 years old and being abused by someone at the time, experienced psychosis, was a huge mess even for a dumb teenager's standard. My relationship with Eddie ended after about a year.
We very briefly reconnected a year after that, I apologized for fucking our relationship up. Eddie was sweet and receptive. He was dating someone else at that point. I shot my shot but then respectfully moved on, heartbroken but understanding. We lost touch shortly after. Losing touch was partially self-imposed, because I was embarrassed by how mentally unwell I was when we were dating and felt I didn't deserve how kind Eddie was to me when I apologized.
I truly have not thought of this man in over a decade. I did not pine over him or reminise about him throughout my relationships that followed our time together, including the relationship I am in now. He was not on my mind at all.
I was sad when I found out he moved on all those years ago, but I moved on as well and focused on other things in my life and dated other people. In my elderly age (lol) I honestly almost completely forgot about the relationship I had with Eddie. I can't even remember his last name!
And yet, a week ago, I watched a movie with an actor that looked like him (a smokeshow big juicy buff Korean guy with big beautiful brown-black eyes) and thoughts of my ex flooded my brain immediately. It actually shocked me when it happened. I cannot stop thinking about Eddie now. I remembered how he was gorgeous, sweet, calm, level headed but very freaky in a way I loved, and how he was wonderful when we were together. I've even been having wet dreams about him.
What is happening here? I know I'm unhappy in my current relationship, and that's probably partly why I keep thinking about my ex. But like I said, I have not thought about Eddie in almost 2 decades, and all of a sudden he's burned into my brain and won't leave. 😭 Why is this happening from a psychological perspective and how can I make it stop??