Posted by Racer on March 29, 2004, at 23:11:43
In reply to Therapy and Sexuality, posted by Rigby on March 29, 2004, at 11:24:31
Now, I'm nobody except a sexual being who suffers from Major Depression, but my guess is that it's just an outgrowth of feeling better. No matter how much we love our life partners, NEW is always appealing. Acting on the New Facter isn't such a great idea, most of the time, but having a new person to flirt with is always fun. I'm betting that flirting with a man might be both relaxing -- since you don't have to worry about any sort of social stigma and stress -- and a little safer than flirting with another woman. After all, your partner can't be compared to a man, so it's not really taking anything away from her, right?
By the way, as a straight woman, I flirt with all genders and ages and orientations. I used to love taking my car to the mechanic's, since one of the gay men working there was a very accomplished flirt. (I did check with his boss to make sure he was gay, before getting too deeply into flirting with him, though. Wanted to make sure nothing would be misunderstood, that we both knew flirting was the end, not the means to it.)
As for your therapist, great that he/she recognises the value of flirting, and that it's a sign of recovery.
Hope that helps.
poster:Racer
thread:329829
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20040327/msgs/330161.html