I've been dating a wonderful guy for about two months. He's one of my best friends, I can tell him almost anything and he treats me like an equal. There are a few catches: he's 15 years older than me (in 23, he's 38); I'm horrible at relationships as I tend to cut and run at the first sign of trouble; and (most importantly) his ex gave birth to his son almost two weeks ago.

In addition to all the borderline stuff that makes relationships so hard for me, now I'm dealing with baby mama drama. And she is not a pleasant one. Manipulative, deceitful, everything's a game to her. She's been using his child as a pawn from the day she found out she was pregnant. And if the courts give her placement, that poor kid is gonna continue to be used and pushed around to suit her selfish needs.

I've asked a few trusted friends about this, and they've all basically said "be patient". And I'm trying. I can recognize when my thoughts/behaviors/emotions are irrational, and I've been feeling very irrational lately. I don't act on it, so from the outside looking in, someone might just assume I'm overtired or stressed. Which is good, that means my facade is working.

I don't know what to do with all these pent up emotions. Sometimes it's hard to breathe. In one day, I'll go from elation at finally having found a nice guy, to doubting whether it'll work out, to anger at what his ex has put him through, to depression cause I'm so drained I can't manage anything else. I'm high-functioning borderline, but in the last month I've felt a lot of things that I haven't felt since high school. And I don't know how to handle it all. I plan to bring all of this up to my t on Monday. Any advice or words of encouragement are much appreciated.