My boyfriend and I have been together for a few months now and it’s the happiest I’ve ever been. We both really click, and whenever we’re together it’s the best thing in the world. It helps that I knew him in high school and we were friends well before we started dating because we got to skip the awkward ‘get to know you’ phase. He’s a 6’6 gentle giant and my 5’3 self loves him to bits.

One thing we really bonded over is our anxiety. We both have diagnosed anxiety issues, depression, and ADD/ADHD (in the H). We both realized that really quickly (I think I had a major panic attack like one week after dating) and we are both able to help each other through our rough patches.

One of the biggest ways I notice this is in my eyebrows. With my anxiety, one of the ways I guess my brain decided to try and sooth itself was picking my eyebrows. I would do it absentmindedly and when I finally would notice I’d have a huge patch with just no hair whatsoever. Ever since my boyfriend and I have been dating there haven’t been any holes (because every time he sees me going for my eyebrow he either grabs my hand, kisses my cheek, or tickles my armpit (the third of which surprised me when he first did it).

With my boyfriend, I’ve noticed he’s more confident. He’s more sure of himself, he’s happier, more vocal. He’s even more confident when it comes to more ‘romantic’ things (we’re waiting for sex, but he’s very open to try different things which I don’t mind at all). He’s still careful with my boundaries (being a sexual assault survivor, I can get very panicky really quick when he does something certain ways) and always asks to make sure that things are okay (another thing I love about him).

I guess all I can say is be open about your issues with someone you consider your S/O. They could be a thing you bond over and can work through together.