Thank you for this my friend, for sharing your story with us for being so open,as you said an open book, it is so important for us to share, for so long so many people have suffered in silence, due to lack of understanding and ignorance, I have a huge amount of respect for you and I really am impressed by your awareness and by the obvious work you have been doing to heal yourself. Your words really touched me and made me quite emotional, all very good things, it is so refreshing to hear someone speak who is in touch with their emotions and aware of their behaviours. Indeed we are going through a very powerful time right now and you are on the right path.
I wish you and your partner all the best, you are both lucky to have one another and have a deep understanding of one another. When we hold a lot of passion inside for some one it does need to be expressed in ways that are productive and it sounds that you are both finding your way with that, but you know awareness is the first step and you so have that. You will find your groove together, love yourself first and it will flow from that.
Thank you for this @alchemage listening to you speak has given me some closure for the relationship I was in, in the past. There is always that sense of guilt, did I really do the right thing walking away, I know I did but still, breaking a promise and walking away from some one in pain is never easy.