TheOtherDave comments on Polyhacking - Less Wrong

75 Post author: Alicorn 28 August 2011 08:35AM

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Comment author: TheOtherDave 29 August 2011 01:35:21AM 4 points [-]

Many polyfolk deal with this sort of thing, much as people in monogamous relationships deal with their partners becoming absorbed by a new interest, being assigned to six-month deployments overseas, driving trucks for weeks at a time across the country, having crushing deadlines at work, or otherwise having things come up in their lives that force their partnership to take second priority for a while.

The common thread in my experience is an acceptance that they are not the absolute top priority in their partner's life (partners' lives) 100% of the time, and that's OK, and the relationship is still positive and valuable.

So, yes, that is something that some poly folk can deal with in a polyamorous context.

Whether it's something you can self-modify out of (second person used advisedly), I don't know.

Comment author: smk 29 August 2011 08:24:11AM 1 point [-]

Being absorbed by a new interest or being busy or away aren't quite the same thing as not being into your partner anymore.

Comment author: TheOtherDave 29 August 2011 11:50:51PM 1 point [-]

That's certainly true. But, again, IME being OK with not being the absolute top priority in one's partner's life 100% of the time helps one deal with all four of those not-quite-identical things.

I should also note that your first description made it sound like a temporary thing, whereas your second description makes it sound more like a change of the baseline; is that intentional, or am I just over-reading?

Comment author: smk 07 September 2011 01:43:31PM 0 points [-]

Temporary but lasting several months, I'm told.