u/Additional-Fig-1405

trying to figure out my sexuality

I’m trying to understand my sexuality and I’m feeling genuinely confused about it. I can find both men and women attractive, but the way it shows up in real situations feels inconsistent and I’m trying to figure out what that means about me.

With men, I can feel interested at first maybe they look nice and I can enjoy talking to them or being around them. once things start becoming mutual or they start liking me “for real,” something shifts for me. I often feel like I lose interest or start mentally pulling away. It can feel like physical intimacy becomes something I’m either trying to slow down, get through, or mentally detach from rather than something I’m fully present in. Sometimes I notice I’m more focused on the physical feeling of something inside me, tmi im sorry, than the person themselves, and I don’t really feel a strong drive for things to deepen long-term in a consistent way. Part of that is if i like something inside me, im probably bi but it doesn’t feel that way’s completely. at the same time i dont want something in me every time.

A big part of it is that once there’s mutual attraction, it starts to feel like there’s an expectation around sex or escalation. I don’t always want things to move in that direction, and when it feels like it naturally is, I tend to shut down or want distance. It can also feel like I’m managing the other person’s expectations a lot more than I want to.

With women, even just imagining it or thinking about it feels different. I feel more natural comfort with closeness and affection without it automatically feeling like it has to escalate into something sexual. I can picture emotional and physical intimacy existing in the same space without pressure, and it feels easier to imagine just being close, talking, and existing together. im not opposed to physical intimacy it js doesnt seem like im feeling how a straight person feels with men, but idk bc ive never been with a women in that way either.

Because of that difference, I’m confused about what this actually means. I don’t know if I’m bisexual and just have a stronger preference or comfort with women that I haven’t fully understood yet, or if I might be more attracted to women than I’ve realized. or if this is just anxiety, overthinking, or based on my past experiences shaping how I react in relationships with men.

I’m not really looking for someone to label me, I just want outside perspective on whether anyone has experienced something similar, and where it led them.

reddit.com
u/Additional-Fig-1405 — 3 days ago

How did you know??

I’m trying to understand my sexuality and I’m feeling genuinely confused about it. I can find both men and women attractive, but the way it shows up in real situations feels inconsistent and I’m trying to figure out what that means about me.

With men, I can feel interested at first maybe they look nice and I can enjoy talking to them or being around them. once things start becoming mutual or they start liking me “for real,” something shifts for me. I often feel like I lose interest or start mentally pulling away. It can feel like physical intimacy becomes something I’m either trying to slow down, get through, or mentally detach from rather than something I’m fully present in. Sometimes I notice I’m more focused on the physical feeling of something inside me, tmi im sorry, than the person themselves, and I don’t really feel a strong drive for things to deepen long-term in a consistent way. Part of that is if i like something inside me, im probably bi but it doesn’t feel that way’s completely. at the same time i dont want something in me every time.

A big part of it is that once there’s mutual attraction, it starts to feel like there’s an expectation around sex or escalation. I don’t always want things to move in that direction, and when it feels like it naturally is, I tend to shut down or want distance. It can also feel like I’m managing the other person’s expectations a lot more than I want to.

With women, even just imagining it or thinking about it feels different. I feel more natural comfort with closeness and affection without it automatically feeling like it has to escalate into something sexual. I can picture emotional and physical intimacy existing in the same space without pressure, and it feels easier to imagine just being close, talking, and existing together. im not opposed to physical intimacy it js doesnt seem like im feeling how a straight person feels with men, but idk bc ive never been with a women in that way either.

Because of that difference, I’m confused about what this actually means. I don’t know if I’m bisexual and just have a stronger preference or comfort with women that I haven’t fully understood yet, or if I might be more attracted to women than I’ve realized. or if this is just anxiety, overthinking, or based on my past experiences shaping how I react in relationships with men.

I’m not really looking for someone to label me, I just want outside perspective on whether anyone has experienced something similar, and where it led them.

reddit.com
u/Additional-Fig-1405 — 3 days ago

I just started my first desert rose bonsai project and I’m looking for some advice because I really don’t want to mess this up early on.

I bought this desert rose from Home Depot today and noticed right away it had a pretty thick caudex and a bunch of shoots coming off the main stem (I’d say around 10–11 growth points total). The main trunk also has a slight natural twist to the right which I feel like could work really well for a bonsai style.

When I got it home, I carefully removed it from the nursery pot and started checking the roots with a skewer. I found a few spots of root rot so I trimmed off the soft/damaged roots. After that, I lightly sprayed the roots with isopropyl alcohol just while I was cleaning things up (mainly to make sure everything was as clean as possible while I worked). I repotted it into a mix of cactus/succulent soil, orchid bark, perlite, and a small amount of indoor potting mix.

Right now I have not watered it yet because I wanted to let it settle and dry out a bit after the repot and root cleanup.

Some of the leaves have slight yellowing and a few brown tips, but overall the plant looks healthy and I’m assuming that’s just stress from nursery conditions and transport.

My goal with this plant is to eventually shape it into a classic desert rose bonsai style — ideally a single trunk informal upright with movement, layered branch pads on alternating sides, and a wide, balanced canopy that eventually looks like a small tree on a porch.

Where I’m stuck right now is structure decisions. I’m not sure if I should:

\-pick one main trunk now and slowly remove the others over time

\-or keep 2–3 stems for now and reduce later

\-or do two trunks instead

I like the idea of a single-trunk bonsai but I’m worried I might choose the wrong leader too early or that it would look fuller if I did it a different way.

I’m also unsure how long I should wait after repotting/root cleanup before doing any real pruning or shaping, since I don’t want to stress it too much right after working on the roots.

My main concerns are over-pruning too early and weakening the plant, or leaving too much and ending up with a messy shrub instead of a bonsai structure.

Any advice from people experienced with desert roses or bonsai styling would really help. especially around trunk selection timing, how aggressive I should be at this stage, and how to avoid messing up the structure early on.

u/Additional-Fig-1405 — 15 days ago