Gymnophobia (Fear of Nudity/Being Naked)
As the title of this post states I struggle with gymnophobia and have for most of my life, I'm trying to understand my limitations within this phobia so I can manage it along with the other main issues in my life that hinder me from doing things. I have not been on a face to face physical person date in over 8 years because of this fear I have, my gymnophobia started around or just prior to a traumatic experience in my mid teens, where this is debilitating and able to cause so much anxiety to me is that question(s) I always have about myself the main being:
will I ever be able to find someone that is understanding and patient enough as to not walk away because I can't be naked with them straight away in an intimacy setting
Some answers I have are yes I will which strengthen my determination/resolve and so on that I am worthy of everything I want and desire in life; however as you guessed it, some answers are no you won't and the latter usually if I'm in a deperssive state and spiralling hard, because I'm in that triggered moment where I feel absolutely worthless and no good / not fit for a woman to love. The no responses come a lot more frequently because I think that because I can't be naked I'm not worth being with or desirable enough.
@InkStainedFingers Awww. You are definitely worth being with and worth loving! You will just have to meet a lot of people and be upfront. There definitely are people who want to take things slow, and even people who are virgins like me. I don't have the exact same fear, but I was assaulted, so I have anxiety around sex also. I have an online dating profile, but I put very clearly on there that I'm not looking for casual sex and explained what I'm looking for. You may also want to look up demisexual and asexual communities or trauma/survivor support.
@Daydreamer47
Thank you for your reply, More and more I'm certainly feeling that I'm less and less alone with what different pieces and certain feelings I'm going through.
I have looked into dating profiles (online) but am hesitant to a degree, because there are so many that I don't know which isa safe(er) for me to use and while I have always been upfront genuine and honest with everything I do believe that this (gymnophobia) may hinder me more than everything else that's going on.
Like you the trauma experienced was an assualt (I won't go into specifics or what type, because I'm dealing with it but find it hard to speak of) and even though I've had a relationship (yes I'm like Charlie Bucket "Just One") that lasted longer than expected, it was very hard to open up within it because of what happened to me and what was happening in the relationship.
Thank you for jogging my memory about the demisexual/asexual communities and the tramua/suvivor support (I gathered you meant here as a starting point anyway, if they exist) I've never really been good at approaching things quickly, I tend to build up the courage because groups are very difficult for me. Thank you again for your kind thoughtful words.
@InkStainedFingers No problem. There definitely are separate forum groups on here for survivors and LGBTQA communities. There are also assault hotlines such as 800.656.HOPE (4673) from a group called RAINN (Rape, abuse, and incest national network). I haven't called it yet, but I think it might help me.
@Daydreamer47 .. Those numbers mentioned and differ slightly for me as I'm not U.S based but I know the ones to ring. The groups here, I'm slowly feeling out because I'm across a number of them I don't want to flood with the same story continously, Thank you again for this information.