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I had this alarming moment in my mid twenties when I woke up, realized there were no romantic prospects in my life, and I panicked. I’d had a few guys in rotation in the months leading up to that. There was one guy who I’d casually meet up with once or twice a month for a drink and, um, other stuff. But that just fizzled out. There was another guy who was very sweet and who I wanted to like—we went on about six dates—but the chemistry just wasn’t there. And there was an ex boyfriend who, against my better judgment, I’d been chatting with, dancing around the idea of getting back together. But I finally put an end to that because I knew it was no good for me. And then that was it. There were no men in my life. There would be no flirty texts coming my way. It worried me. And then it worried me that that worried me. We can become a bit addicted to male attention and romantic possibilities. But it’s good to be without them sometimes. So I swore myself to a man detox. Everyone should do one from time to time.
Remove the first date anxiety
When I was actively dating, I had a little anxiety in my life almost every day because I had some first date planned in the near future. That meant knowing that I’d have to be on and charming. It meant possibly falling for someone new, or having to reject someone. Once I stopped dating for a while those constant jitters just—poof—went away. It was nice.
