What advice do you have for managing my long-distance relationship?
This will be a lengthy message, and I want to express my gratitude to anyone who takes the time to read it. My partner and I have been together for five years, with three of those years spent living together until our circumstances shifted. He is truly an incredible person—nurturing, loving, funny, and intelligent—everything I ever wished for. He is my best friend. We rarely fight, and when we do, we make a point to resolve our issues that same day. Two years ago, he moved to another country to chase his dreams. I knew this was a possibility from the start of our relationship, but I always thought he would return after a year once he got his documentation sorted. Instead, he chose to stay. Now, there is a staggering 9,500 km between us. He has visited me twice, each time for 2-3 weeks, but I often felt that those visits were more about his health needs than about spending quality time with me, as he had many errands to run. I recently returned from a three-month visit where I stayed with him. Our time together is pure happiness; we had so much fun, and he took wonderful care of me, for which I am deeply grateful. However, now that I'm back home, I feel incredibly lonely and hollow. The sadness is overwhelming, and I think I might be experiencing depression since I've lost interest in activities I once enjoyed—even going for a walk feels like a burden. I've started therapy, but I'm uncertain how much it will help. In order to visit him, I impulsively quit my job, and now, back home and unemployed with no close friends around, I feel trapped in a cycle of loneliness. We talk almost every day for about an hour, but I worry I've become too emotionally reliant on our relationship. I used to see him daily, and the distance now feels unbearable. Each visit makes saying goodbye more painful. Currently, I don’t have a job, but I know that once I do find one, my focus will immediately shift to saving for my next trip to see him, followed by another job search after the visit. This thought is incredibly stressful and detrimental to my career prospects. I've tried to express my feelings to him, but he doesn’t seem to fully grasp the depth of my struggles, and our conversations sometimes escalate into minor arguments. I've been asking him when this long-distance situation will end, but he lacks a clear answer and is uncertain about his own future. He enjoys having me in his life and wants to be with me, but he’s unsure about where he sees himself in the long run. I consider myself patient, yet I’m at a loss for how to broach this topic again. We’ve been navigating this long-distance phase for nearly two years now. While I know our love is strong, I'm unsure how much longer I can endure this. I’m someone who likes to plan and have a sense of direction, especially regarding our relationship. Whenever I ask about our future, he avoids giving an answer and tells me he doesn’t know, which drives me to frustration. Moving to be with him permanently isn't feasible, as there are no available visas for me. For me to move, we would need to marry, and even then, we would have to wait a couple of years for the visa to process. We both want to marry each other, but he feels we are too young. With Valentine’s Day approaching, I’ll be by myself while he’s away on vacation with his family. I know I must push through, but it still hurts. There’s likely more to share, but this encapsulates my current feelings. If anyone has advice or insights, I would truly appreciate it. Thank you for taking the time to read this.