I had met this person when he wasn't married and we have a very close bond that we share between us. The lack of contact and extreme loneliness, depression is killing me and I don't know if I can survive without him.

I am 29. My parents got seperated. Haven't talked to my mom in 2 years ( she fucked up really bad). My old man he is getting old. I don't what am I gonna do without him. He lives in a different city I live in a different one because of my work. I've got no friends any more. Haven't got married. Don't think I might get any sooner coz of my family issues. I feel I might be alone all my life coz of my introvert nature. Feels like I haven't got any purpose or a goal in my life. You people who are reading this, your words would mean a lot so please share your thoughts.

Hi, my question will be somewhat delicate. I’m not quite sure whom to turn to or what to do next, so guess I just need some opinions on the matter.

I work in a library, and we have a mentally handicapped man working with us. I don’t know the details of his condition. He’s in his forties but acts like he’s 16. All my other colleagues are middle-aged women, I’m the only one without a family or kids. When I took the job, that man immediately took a liking to me and it sort of became our routine to chat a bit in the morning and after work. Nothing personal, we talk about favorite music and TV-shows. He tells me what he had cooked for breakfast (he lives with his mother) and the new Lego set he had bought. Initially I thought it was normal work chitchat, especially when we both get bored with repetitive daily tasks. But lately our communication has turned to direct flirting on his side. He always wants to help me with something, even though I don’t need any help. I tried to be polite and friendly, but eventually snapped a couple of times telling him he was distracting me from my work. He got offended and ignored me for several days walking back and forth past my working desk twenty times a day with a blank face. It was actually a relief, but it was not for long, and meanwhile my colleagues kept joking that I’d been rude to “our Jeff”. I secretly hoped he’d stay offended, but he showed up with a rose instead and doubled his flirting. He also became more aggressive, last month he came to work and put his arms on my shoulders asking for “free hugs” all the while smiling like it was something natural. I didn’t know how to react and tried to detach myself as quickly as possible. My colleague who was standing next to me patted him on the back and told him to go do his job, which he did. She finds his attentions to me “cute” and reminds me that he doesn’t fully understand the full consequences of his actions. I’m not sure this is true because he doesn’t act the same way to any other woman, but I never gave him any reasons to believe I’m interested. I took two weeks off before the holidays, hoping that we’ll all take a healthy break from one another and things might change for the better. My friend advised me to treat the man as I treat my female colleagues, to be very reserved and focus on my work. However, I find it hard to follow! I began avoiding our small cafeteria on the first floor and take the pains to have lunch at the mall next to the library, just to avoid any communication with Jeff outside work. It’s both longer and lonelier. I feel uncomfortable when he is around. Two days ago, he grabbed me by the hand near the elevator and tried to hold me, making inappropriate comments about my skirt. I told my manager about it, she shrugged it off, like all my other colleagues do. They think he’s harmless, and I almost feel ashamed for complaining to them. I tried to casually lie to Jeff that I have a boyfriend and am about to get married, and he didn’t show any signs of comprehension at my words, as if I were talking about my brother or about pizza. I feel like I’m some sort of trophy, and I’m supposed to be kind and understanding because I have no mental issues and he has.

So, how to handle this situation appropriately? I don’t want to get Jeff in trouble, but I don’t know how to stop it, without quitting my job? Or should I quit? The pay is not worth it, and the only reason I took it was to pay the bills quickly and because I thought it’s a great relaxing job.

There’s nothing that turns me off more than someone who’s hypersexual. Whether it’s a result of trauma or lack of sexual discipline, it’s genuinely unattractive to me and not just because I’m asexual. If you can’t have a civil conversation without making it sexual, don’t engage with me. I’m so tired of trying to build relationships with men and they’re immediately trying to initiate intimacy.

For a VERY brief moment I thought I met a seemingly normal man. We were talking just before I began working through my self care routine which consists of meditating, hydrating, stretching, doing something creative, listening to my favourite tunes and self help exercises. By the time I replied it had already been an hour so I apologised for the delayed reply, informing him I was doing CBT. “CBT” the abbreviation for cognitive behaviour therapy, this fucking weirdo thought I meant cock and ball torture. Blocked him immediately after communicating things won’t work.

But this not the only time I’ve experienced something like this and it’s exhausting. There’s absolutely no way it’s THIS difficult for people to have casual conversation without being promiscuous? This is exactly why I haven’t used chat and dating sites in almost 10 years. People are quick to jump to sex without knowing the person and it’s appalling to me. Until I’ve known a person for 7 or more months, sex is off the table. If that’s a dealbreaker, so be it. Even as a sexually active asexual, this is exactly why I only date within the asexual community.

Jesus fuck.