I keep thinking about an ex I broke up with ~3 years ago. I don't

I think it's normal. I dated a girl for 7 years, split up 7 years ago, and I had a dream about her last night. I felt her in my arms. Haven't thought about her in a long time though, and I have a gf I'm happy with. And she's married now. So, I dunno if it's normal, but I get it, too.

Isn't it nice that someone can have that effect on you, after so long? I think if you can have those thoughts without any real hurt attached to it, you gave nothing to worry about. People we meet at different times in our lives have different impacts and for whatever reason hers was a significant one.

I think you're definitely doing the right thing by using the thoughts to spur your new relationship on; take that learning and act on it.

Or maybe there's an element to your relationship with her that you're missing. Find out what it is that is making you think of her and try to introduce that to your life.

It could also just be brain-chatter and something you should disregard. Brains are weird.

>>18573657
I get it. Our intimate relationship wasn't long, 9 months. We were friends for sometime before then, but haven't been romantically involved for years.

>>18573669
It's cool that there was a person who cared about me a lot, yeah, but it does create some weird thoughts in my head haha. I can't tell if I'm subconsciously unloyal to current partner, but as long as it stays subconscious, it's not an issue, right? I dunno. There might be some element missing from my current partner that I got from the ex, but what my current partner "gives" me far surpasses anyone else.

Could it be a "first love" thing? I mean, a lot of people have their first long term relationship in high school, but is that really "love?" I dated a girl for 2 years in high school, and she's been largely forgettable (despite me being more distraught over the breakup at the time).

You're about to make a big change in your current relationship. Even if it's something you want, sometimes there's some pushback because those big changes mean less freedom and the closing off of alternate avenues down which your life could have proceeded.

If you're committed to your current girlfriend and your relationship, and you have no reservations about moving in with her, I wouldn't be too concerned or overthink this too much.