I feel like this might be the reason for my depression and not putting enough effort into a relationship with my boyfriend. It's because I HATE MYSELF and am not accepting of my own sexuality. (Kinda ironic, right? Most LGBT people might get depressed over a family member or best friend not accepting them, but for me, it's worse. I can't accept myself for who I truly am.:icon_sad
This is absolutely a factor in making it difficult to date. In fact, I'd venture to say that it's one of the prime causes of having difficulty with dating. It's easy to use another person as validation - as the reason we're glad we came out, as a sign of our personal success, and so forth - but flip this on its head. Not many people would say that they're looking for a potential partner who's unsure of themselves, doesn't know if they want to come out, and are generally struggling with life in general. If we're looking for partners who are successful (whatever that may mean), confident, and uplifting, chances are others are looking for the same. That's not to say that everyone doesn't have their personal doubts, concerns, etc. It's very normal to have those things. The key is whether a relationship is the means to achieving our sense of self-validation - or whether a relationship is the end point having achieved some sense of self-validation.