I feel like past a certain age everyone doesn’t like growing older. For me I have that same feeling plus the added pressure that every year I go from being an X year old virgin to an X+1 one year old virgin. I’m about to finish collage and go into the work field which given my internship I can already tell I won’t have much of a chance at meeting new people even less girls.
Everytime I find someone and start getting along with them really well. I think to my self this will finally be the year which I stop being a virgin. But it just has not worked out. Of course I dont go into a relationship with the sole goal of losing my V-card but it is something that crosses my mind.
I am 24 year old and I am still a virgin.
Thank you so much for sharing in such detail, you’ve said things I never thought about. How looking at things from a different physiology perspective might change how I see things.
I do struggle with some of the thoughts you mentioned. I have always felt insecure and the added fact that I’m still a virgin just adds to my insecurities.
My dad has pressured me for things like school education and discipline. But when it came to girls he didnt really do so and he even told me it was better to just focus on my studies. Which I did but its not like I had an alternative ie someone interested enough in me to distract me form my studies.
But yeah my best friend for example has had all these experiences, meeting girls in such random scenarios and getting to have relations. Minewhile I’m still a virgin. All be it, all except for one of the girls I would probably not like to have sex with personally.
And I honestly dont know what to do to change this. All I’ve been doing is just trying to better my self. Learned to play the guitar. Almost graduated. Already have a job. Going to the gym/volleyball. I tried to dress better/fancier. All of these things and I still have no one.
Yes, I think I can relate very well. What I try to bring across to people is a model Albert Ellis, the founder of REBT, has proposed for how exactly emotions come to be. Basically, the model has three layers:
A- Activating event (e.g. a friend tells you how amazing it is to have a GF, you lay in bed and think that you’re still a virgin) B - Belief (I MUST already have had sex, I MUST be able to relate, I MUST have succeeded here) C - Consequence (you feel shittily, because you couldn’t fulfill your beliefs)
The model is also called the ABC model, for short.
The nutshell is that the event in ITSELF (aka that you’re a virgin) doesn’t make you miserable, but your beliefs and relation towards it. For example, imagine someone who wants to be a monk. They would be happy to still be a virgin, right? Or imagine someone who wants to wait until the right partner comes along. Imagine a devout Christian, who wants to wait until marriage, or an asexual person.
In short, many people would perceive being a virgin as GOOD, as something very nice and positive. That does not mean that you have to feel the same way, by all means - but it means that your personal beliefs, convictions and motivations heavily shape your perception.
Or, to put it differently - you really seem to have put a lot of effort into improving yourself and working out, right? You did everything one reasonably might suggest to do. So perhaps it is a good thing to take a step back and remind yourself that the reason you feel so bad about it is partially connected to your personal beliefs about what you should do and how to be. You don’t feel terribly because you’re a virgin, you feel terribly because you think you MUST NOT be a virgin.
By no means do I want to tell you that it is wrong - I personally definitely struggle with this concept. However I think it is good to simply keep this in mind to be able to exercise a bit of self-compassion, that the reason you feel bad is because your beliefs bash down on you and tell you “you’re a worthless piece of shit because you didn’t fulfill xyz” You are not a bad or worthless person by not being a virgin, I honestly believe it.
And besides - my personal story is, I am very very happy to have waited for my first kiss until my current partner. I have felt terribly that all the other people around me already had relationships, and I didn’t. Nowadays I am very happy to have waited, because it makes my physical relationship with her very very special. She is the first person I shared myself on a physical level with, and I wouldn’t trade all the nice girls in high school for this bond we share now. Perhaps that’s something you can also reframe for yourself: assuming you will find a partner one day (which I presume you’ll be able to do), the fact that you’ll be able to know she’s your first sexual contact will be very special - for you just as much as for her.
I hope this makes sense or may be helpful. If you have any additional thoughts or questions, don’t hesitate to reply :)
This is very helpful. Honestly from all the comments here, yours have been the most insightful and helpful (not to say the others didnt help).
Funny enough I did hear about the ABC stuff when I tried therapy (I only had like 3 sessions and didn’t like my therapist) but I never thought to apply the ABC to this situation. Thank you for that realisation, for sharing your expenice and for being so open to talking. And I am happy to hear about your current relationship going so well.
I’m very glad it was helpful! I study psychology, so always happy to be able to share a bit of knowledge :) Best of luck to you!
Bro straight up ask your friend to get you laid. Lower your standards and just follow his lead to check that box. Don’t over think it - the goal is to get into a 1 on 1 situation after some drinking (not too much) then just go for it. Don’t worry about it being embarrassing because your goal is not to see the lerson again, its to fuck. Everything will come much easier after that, trust me.
I cannot emphasize the lowered standards thing enough. The sexual context itself is surprisingly stimulating. Even if it goes terribly it will throw a switch in you which just demystifies the process