This is an excellent and honest story Eric. What's crazy is how relatable this is. I look back at years of dating and I was always the known by my family as the "2yr curse" and that is b/c every 2 years I would have a new boyfriend. I would always end my relationships and then look for the next one. It tended to be a "type" of guy but in the end I look back and about 90% of them were toxic, broken but fun. The fun part is always what sold me! I guess a part of me always felt like I could "fix them" and be that support who can get them out of their own way. BUT every 2 yrs I would hit my capacity and saw that things were not changing and I wouldn't be able to stick through it, so I ended them. Now, 11yrs married, I look back at the moment I met my husband and all of the things you listed were there immediately. Did I fall back into that "pattern" yes and perhaps no at the same time. Something we should talk about when you come on my live. Thanks for sharing such an incredible and eye opening story.
Thank you for sharing something so personal and honest.
The two year curse, the fun ones, the ones you believed in even when they couldn't believe in themselves. That is the human experience run by the nervous system, and you just described it more honestly than most people ever will. I look forward having this conversation with you.
There’s a certain kind of writing that doesn’t just land — it recognizes you. This piece did that. It read like someone naming the things I’ve lived without ever having the language for. The way the body keeps choosing what it learned too early. The way “familiar” masquerades as “love.” The way you can see the pattern clearly and still walk straight into it because your nervous system is already halfway there.
What Hit Me Hardest
That idea of familiarity dressed as destiny — that’s been the story of my life.
The way the nervous system keeps dragging you toward the same emotional frequency, even when your mind is screaming no.
The gap between understanding the pattern and actually being able to stop it.
That gap is where I’ve lived for years.
Why It Resonated So Deeply
I’ve been writing through my own wreckage this past year — not because I’m brave, but because it was the only way I could breathe. I even wrote a book that reads like a diary, and I didn’t realize until it was finished and published that I had written my own life without meaning to. My nervous system told the truth before I did.
Your words touched the part of me that’s been trying to surface — the part that’s tired of performing, tired of repeating, tired of calling the familiar thing love.
This is an excellent and honest story Eric. What's crazy is how relatable this is. I look back at years of dating and I was always the known by my family as the "2yr curse" and that is b/c every 2 years I would have a new boyfriend. I would always end my relationships and then look for the next one. It tended to be a "type" of guy but in the end I look back and about 90% of them were toxic, broken but fun. The fun part is always what sold me! I guess a part of me always felt like I could "fix them" and be that support who can get them out of their own way. BUT every 2 yrs I would hit my capacity and saw that things were not changing and I wouldn't be able to stick through it, so I ended them. Now, 11yrs married, I look back at the moment I met my husband and all of the things you listed were there immediately. Did I fall back into that "pattern" yes and perhaps no at the same time. Something we should talk about when you come on my live. Thanks for sharing such an incredible and eye opening story.
Thank you for sharing something so personal and honest.
The two year curse, the fun ones, the ones you believed in even when they couldn't believe in themselves. That is the human experience run by the nervous system, and you just described it more honestly than most people ever will. I look forward having this conversation with you.
There’s a certain kind of writing that doesn’t just land — it recognizes you. This piece did that. It read like someone naming the things I’ve lived without ever having the language for. The way the body keeps choosing what it learned too early. The way “familiar” masquerades as “love.” The way you can see the pattern clearly and still walk straight into it because your nervous system is already halfway there.
What Hit Me Hardest
That idea of familiarity dressed as destiny — that’s been the story of my life.
The way the nervous system keeps dragging you toward the same emotional frequency, even when your mind is screaming no.
The gap between understanding the pattern and actually being able to stop it.
That gap is where I’ve lived for years.
Why It Resonated So Deeply
I’ve been writing through my own wreckage this past year — not because I’m brave, but because it was the only way I could breathe. I even wrote a book that reads like a diary, and I didn’t realize until it was finished and published that I had written my own life without meaning to. My nervous system told the truth before I did.
Your words touched the part of me that’s been trying to surface — the part that’s tired of performing, tired of repeating, tired of calling the familiar thing love.
That’s why I write. To help people name what they have been living without a deep understanding of. I am glad you reached out. Thank you 🙏