u/booboothepooh

i know i am a love addict. i think i always knew subconsciously but i simply blamed it on adhd. i have moved abroad for university five years ago. right before that i was in an abusive relationship with someone i was obsessed with my entire childhood. it left me traumatised, struggling with attachment and repeating the same pattern of sexual withdrawal after even the slightest pressure. in those five years, following an 8 month long break from dating (in which i was still obsessing over another, unavailable person), i have been in four back-to-back long distance relationships. all quite questionable, all following the same pattern of: experiencing burnout in old relationship - breakup - obsession over the new person - jumping into a committed relationship very soon - burning out after a couple months and withdrawing sexually - soon withdrawing emotionally and looking for next person. and i am repeating this pattern again. except this time i was already almost sure i would leave my partner. i missed out on my life abroad and i don’t want to do this again. and being together in person for six months last year was disappointing. we are also not in the same place. and when i was making the decision i suddenly met and connected with a new person. he knows my story and openly told me that even though he’s interested, he really thinks that i need the space to learn to be alone. which is also something i want. we are at the same university and won’t be seeing each other for three months this summer. i really like him and i feel very connected to him. how do i navigate this? i don’t want to ruin something that might be right. is it okay to take the space and not talk over summer with the intention to see where we stand when we see each other again? or should i end this definitely in order to be able to recover? i think he will understand me and accept it but im also scared that i will be struggling and obsessing over him even more because i know i get emotionally invested even during no contact.