Hi Jenny01, Unfortunately, here at Scarleteen we are not equipt to be giving about advice about someone who is actively suicidal. I'm going to link you to resources we have and if you are still really concerned I'd recommend sending these to your friend or reaching out to get some advice on your own...

Hi, I'm wondering where you are getting this "should" feeling from. As Mo stated above, in general if there is not absolute cetainty going into sex it doesn't sound like the best time. I'm happy to hear you've made a small bit of progress but I do want to remind you that these things they ...

Hi! So when I'm referring to pleasure in your body I am talking about physical sensations that feel good and that you enjoy. Pleasure is an experience of our 5 senses that makes us feel good. That can be as simple as a warm bath, or a food that you really like eating, or the feeling of someone givin...

Hi spottedowl! Thanks for sharing all this. Man, you have hit on some very important and complicated concepts in this post that I completely feel you on! Intimacy is such a complicated concept on its own, add on cultural understandings, gendered understandings, AND romantic understandings of intimac...

Hi! I'm glad you were able to read some of the articles. I completely understand they can be difficult to understand because bodies are difficult to understand! It also sounds like you are starting to notice more feelings and sensations in your body which is a great next step into understanding what...

Hi Kela, Thank you for sharing with me. I can imagine that anxiety has been a big weight on you lately! First off, I would start by saying let's take a deep breath! It sounds like a lot of your anxieties are all culminating at once here and that's a lot for one brain to take on so let's take it one ...

Hi,

Since, as Sam identified, this is really just discharge that is slightly changing to indicate your period might be coming, I wouldn't count that as spotting.

Hope that helps!

Val

Hi Joey1998, I'm glad to hear that Mo's post was affirming for you and so sorry to hear that this happened. You've talked about taking extra care of yourself over the next few days and I wanted to know a little more about what that looks like. Dealing with the emotions and trauma around assault can ...

Hi sky! I've got a couple suggestions for you. First of all, for Pride this year our lovely staff and volunteers came up with a pretty rad list of queer media that we find to be positive representations so I've attached that here: Queer Your Eyes and Ears (with some help from the Scarleteam)! Additi...

Okay. I think its a really good idea to take this slow right now for a lot of reasons. Mainly, one of the biggest communications he has sent is that he is really busy right now and even friendship communications have been a lot for him. I think giving him some time and trying to understand who HE is...

Hi! I think it would be helpful for you to approach this mentally as if you are talking to any of your friends. The gender of the person on the other end doesn't have to change the dynamic. With any relationship there are a lot of ways to deepen a friendship! One way is finding out common interests ...

Would it be helpful for us to try to come up with some tools for connecting to thinking about the kind of sexual experience you want? What can we help you with?

Hi Jenny, This sounds so exhausting and frankly misleading. If they truly were trying to keep you safe, part of safety is learning on your own and creating independence so you have knowedge to make decisions in the future. Like you said, they don't let you learn from your mistakes which is a crucial...

Hi there! I think this question would be a great one to ask your gynecologist or general practitioners. None of us are doctors on this site so its always a good idea to go to them with questions of uncertainty around medication. Additionally, I think I've seen you mention having some intense crampin...

Hi! I have a couple ideas and questions for you. To start, I want to emphasize that having sex with a stranger does not make you a "slut" and it is not a morally bad thing to do. So know that even if that is said it doesn't hold any value. You are not lesser because you like sex and don't ...

Hi sandpiper, As I have been sitting with this, I am worried that I haven't mentioned something important in my previous response. Throughout your posts on here it seems pretty consistent that you have not been enjoying or wanting sex and seem to be engaging in it for the sake of pleasing your partn...

Hi gwakgwak, Thanks for writing us! I have a couple answers and resources for your question. One important thing to start off the bat with is that bodies are so vastly different everyone's experiences are bound to be different. There is no "normal" setting when it comes to pleasure. There ...

Hi sandpiper, Like you said, no one here is a medical provider but I am someone with experience being in pelvic floor physical therapy so maybe I can share some of my own experiences because I have experienced some of the stuff you're dealing with. I think your instict to explore relaxation is a VER...

Hi machiruda! I'm so sorry to hear you've been struggling with this - it sounds frustrating. Pleasure is complicated and sometimes unpredictable so there's never really one "right" answer of how to find what works for you but there's a lot of things that can impact it that we can try out. ...

Hi Vambrace, Thank you so much for sharing! I have a couple questions that popped up reading your reply. I know Sam might respond as well when she is on shift. To start I just want to say, I had a really similar experience engaging with sexual content online when I was younger that traumatized me an...

Hi Jenny01, Our website is chalk FULL of awesome resources on this topic. I'm gonna link you to a few of them but I'd encourage you to look at the "sexuality" tag or the "lgbtq" tag. Another thing I suggest you check out is our Glossary ! It's extremely extensive and a great way ...

Hi FestiveFestoon, I'm so sorry to hear you're still struggling. I'm glad you're meeting with the school counselor because these are heavy emotions to process on your own. You mentioned you feel scared to even try reading resources on the topic, can you tell me more about that? What are you fearing ...

This particular part of your post really spoke to me: "This could be a different kind of arousal; one that is based off of knowing your partner knows how to love you. It doesn't need to be sexual for it to be profoundly impactful." It's kind of a weird experiment, but this year I've been ...

Hi Sandpiper! Just wanted to drop in here with some thoughts. You talked about feeling like you were missing out from the "little joys" of sexual desire, arousal, or intimacy, that you see in the media or in your interactions with your friends. I completely understand that feeling and I th...

Hi!

We have a lot of good resources compiled at this link: Anxiety and Other Mental Health Resources

Check it out and try out some of the apps on there. They can be really helpful!

- Val