Perhaps this is not really just my story.

In many ways, I believe it may be a story many of us quietly find ourselves living through, at different points in life.

Single or married. Working or at home. Still building something, or already settled into what we once hoped for.

Life changes us. Relationships change. Our responsibilities grow. Our emotions shift. Our confidence moves through different seasons. And somewhere along the way, even intimacy can begin to feel different.

What once felt effortless may start asking for a little more care, a little more understanding, a little more intention.

Dear Self began from that very place.

In 2020, during a phase of married life when my wife and I were trying to start a family, I found myself thinking about intimacy differently.

We were six years into our marriage, and something quietly struck me.

What should have felt natural now seemed to ask for more presence, more imagination, and more tenderness.

At first, I wondered if this was unusual.

But over time, in conversations with friends and family, married and single, women and men alike, I began hearing different versions of the same feeling.

“Things are not quite the same as before.”

And perhaps they are not.
But maybe that is not something to fear.

The more I read, observed, and listened, the more I came to understand something simple, and strangely comforting.

Intimacy changes with time.

Maybe it was always meant to evolve with us.

And maybe part of that evolution is learning to approach intimacy and sensuality differently through different chapters of life, with more comfort, more openness, and less hesitation.

When I looked at what was available in India, I realised there were already good options. But I often found myself searching for something that felt more thoughtful.

Something discreet.
Something mature.

Something that did not make intimacy feel loud, awkward, or distant from real life.

Something that understood where many of us are today.

That quiet thought stayed with me. And eventually, it became Dear Self.

Dear Self is our attempt to create a space people can return to through different phases of life.

An Attempt to create something I would feel comfortable recommending to the people closest to me.

A place for carefully chosen tools, yes, but also for thoughtful conversations, useful reads, and expert perspectives that make intimacy feel a little more understood, a little less awkward, and easier to talk about.

Because openness often leads to better conversations.

And better conversations often lead to a deeper understanding of ourselves and each other.

We are still learning, as intimacy itself keeps evolving. But we are trying to approach this space with care. By listening closely, learning continuously, and paying attention to comfort, discretion, quality, and experience in ways that genuinely matter.

Before anything else, one question stayed with me:

How do we help someone feel comfortable enough to approach sensuality differently through different phases of life?

In ways that feel natural.
Comfortable.

And true to where life is today.
That is the quiet hope behind Dear Self.

If we can help even a few people feel a little more comfortable with intimacy, with themselves, and with where life is today, we would feel we have done something worthwhile.

Thank you for being here.

With Warmth,
Ankit Joshi