Dating : Dating for the first time
So, I’m a 20 year old (bi) guy who is currently trying to better himself mentally via therapy. I have a couple things affecting how I think at the moment (depression and anxiety are the big ones) and my therapist said that dating would probably be good for me. I am absolutely terrified of doing this for many reasons. The following things below are the main “issues”. Hopefully I can keep this short, apologies if it gets too long.
1. I’ve never dated someone/been in a romantic relationship before. Any advice would be very helpful, I only have TV/Film as my guidance unfortunately aha
2. Online dating is what I am focusing on at the moment (I do want to go out with someone on an actual date but at this current moment in time that isn’t possible). Everything I’ve heard about online dating sounds like people are quite…well…horny. I don’t really have any sexual interest so I would want to avoid that side of dating for now. I haven’t looked at many apps/websites but Bumble and Hinge seem to be my best options. I would appreciate any suggestions for dating apps/sites that are focused on long term relationships instead of quick hook ups. (I’m happy to be proven wrong too! If Tinder/other popular dating apps aren’t as sex crazed as I assume, please let me know!)
3. I feel awful about trying to date someone purely for my mental health (I’m not very good at putting myself first, dating is supposed to help with that but it’s something that’s still very alien to me atm). Should I tell people about my mental health immediately or should I just try and date people (and tell people later)? I don’t like the idea of not telling people but at the same time, I feel like I might worry some people if I list off all the things that are “wrong” with me.
4. I don’t have a way to travel at the moment, obviously it depends on the person but, can online dating just be messaging each other? I would like to hang out with whoever I’m dating but for a while it would just have to be messaging. I’m just curious if most people would be comfortable with that.
For now, I think those are the main things on my mind. Thank you for reading all this, apologies if I wasted your time. I hope you’re having a good day/night <3
