Looks like Sportsnut and Rainsky need some room...

LOL now why would we need that?

My opinion, if you believe the other person to be too "damaged" by the previous relationship or relationships then I would not want to be involved with them outside of a friendship level until they have worked it out. At one level, I may be taking advantage of them, if they are in bad shape and at another level, the relationship I start with them has a larger chance of failure due to the issues being brought in to it. JMO of course

Everyone has baggage of some sort from past relationships. And it effects us all differently. Would I penalize someone for having been touched by life before me ? no...And even issues that you think you have dealt with can catch you off guard and bite you in the behind. I kind of think that a person's past is what made them the person they are that I care about today . So if that means I have to help them see that I am not the person that mistreated them in the past nor will I ever be that person, then I think the extra effort is worth it.

Damaged. Your past posts suggest you're a little damaged too, but that's just my opinion. Your damage seems to be one of an inability to trust.

We're all damaged by the past, which molds us into the present. Breaking out of that mold is what shows true character. Even at 43 years old, if I had allowed myself to be jaded by failure after failure, I wouldn't have gotten to today with my sweet, knowing she loves me for me, because I haven't been anyone but me.

No.......someone who is that damaged.......I cannot heal. They can only heal themselves.