Me Time for Poly People

Sep 1 '2019, 12:05 PM | By Chris

Finding time for yourself is an important part of a balanced life. Time for self reflection, soul searching, unwinding, and just enjoying who you are leads to being a more well-rounded and happy individual. Personal joy is such a huge part of interpersonal joy that the lack of it can lead to the destruction of your relationships, and eventually yourself. The modern world does little to encourage personal time. Paid time off from work is a rarity nowadays for the majority of Americans and there’s an odd expectation that we are constantly supposed to be there for everyone whenever needed. Boundaries are difficult to set without seeming rude, or even cold to some. Here’s something to remember, people that treat you this way need more time to themselves in the worst way. How do you do it? How do you find the time and express in words the need for ‘me time?’ How do you tell your polyamorous lovers you need time to yourself?

An early step is to detect the life leeches you know and figure out what boundaries you need so you are not drained by them. It’s easy to always want to help, and it’s a good way to be. Wanting to help is the way you should respond to real problems. Too many pleas for help are only pleas for attention in disguise. The sooner you learn how to detect bullshit and politely exit the room the better. If you find it’s one of your poly lovers, or a sister wife, it won’t be so easy to deflect, so you have to find ways to help them help themselves. Lover or not, you cannot solve all of another persons’ issues, especially when they’re essentially creating drama in order to gain your attention. Don’t ever feel bad for insisting that someone cannot take advantage of you, no matter who they are in your life.

Say you’re a woman in a polygamous family and your husband has been looking for a new sister wife to grow the family. A new sister wife is supposed to be a benefit, a positive influence on an already happy home. Sometimes a polygamous man can have a little trouble seeing past a pretty face and sweet demeanor. You, as a sister wife, and someone who loves your husband and other sister wives, should never be afraid of pointing out fears that a particular woman would require too much from the family without giving enough back. If she is the type to always require everyone's attention and wants too much of everyone's time it may be best for the family to move along. Anyone that takes an excessive amount from you will never be worth the sacrifice. No matter what your poly lifestyle consists of, finding poly lovers that understand a healthy level of give and take is vital to any relationships success.

Once you’ve avoided or addressed time leech issues in your relationships you can move on to ways to make time for yourself. It should go without saying that words like “I don’t want you to come with me, you’re not invited,” or “leave me alone” come from a negative and destructive place. These are expressions you don’t use against someone you claim to love. They’re also quite childish. Learning to communicate with positive terms, and not like a petulant child, will serve you well in all areas of life. “I feel like I need an evening to myself, Do you mind if I have a little space,” or “I think I’ll sit this one out, you go have fun” get the point across in ways that aren’t hurtful and don’t express any frustration with others when it’s you wanting ‘me time.’ The old rule of do unto others as you would have them do unto you fits here. Express yourself in ways you’d like to be spoken to.

Becoming suddenly excessive about wanting ‘me time’ is a big red flag. Don’t plan a week-long vacation by yourself, unless it’s your normal thing, and not expect your partners to find it strange and alarming. Women become sister wives to enjoy a happy family, not to deal with an erratic husband that plans random long vacations because he doesn’t want to be around them. Nobody is in a polyamorous relationship so they can behave in weird and selfish ways that leave everyone constantly on edge. If you feel the need to push your lovers away, or not be around them for long periods of time, it’s not ‘me time’ you’re searching for. You need to dig into your feelings with your lovers and figure out the problem. ‘Me time’ is evenings, maybe some weekends, to yourself while you enjoy your unique interests or have time for self reflection. That’s the idea of it anyway. Everyone is unique and your partners should have a decent expectation of what is normal for you. Don’t jump too far outside of your normal behaviors and not expect any concern from your lovers.

Set an expectation for everyone in your relationships to have time for themselves. It’s so easy to get trapped in a daily routine and forget who we are. Our unique selves get buried in the expectations of a busy and impersonal world. Making ‘me time’ something you and your lovers encourage each other to enjoy will keep all of you healthier and happier. This will make your relationships far more fulfilling than those involving people that aren’t even aware of who they are any more. Loving someone means you should always help them be their best selves.

We accuse each other of being selfish far too much these days. It’s better to let people take the time they need without judging them for it. We don’t know what they’re going through, and we don’t know when we’re going to need more time to focus on ourselves too. It’s difficult when it’s a lover that needs some space, but even more important to give it to them. Take advantage of it by embracing ‘me time’ for yourself too. Quite often, the more space you allow leads to less space needed. As amazing as polygamous and polyamorous relationships are, they naturally require a lot of your attention. Multiplying love means you have a lot of love to maintain. You’re all in it to love each other, not to suffocate each other. Set each other free, sometimes, and enjoy the strength your love will discover.