Being sensitive makes dating pretty difficult at times. Whether I’m in a relationship or playing the field, I’m going to need constant reassurance that things are going OK. Sensitive girls are hard work, but we make the best long-term girlfriends… if guys can get past these few little hiccups.
- It’s impossible to have a ‘no strings’ attached relationship. No joke—I’ve been known to Facebook stalk the guy I made out with that one time at a club to see if we’d be compatible long-term. If a guy is planning on so much as looking at me twice, he should be prepared for me to plan baby names and which retirement home we’re sending our parents to. That’s an official warning.
- I read stuff into text messages that definitely isn’t there. Texting is a minefield when you’re sensitive. Don’t ask me why, but I’m reading his smiley face at the end of his sentence as a secret code that you’re mad at me. Also, why did I get five kisses yesterday and only one today? If he’s not ready for his texts to be analyzed as if it’s World War Three, he might not be ready to date me.
- Don’t even get me started on the double text. Watching the icon on my message change to “read” and not receiving an instant reply leaves me feeling worse than if he’d ignored me for three days straight (probably). How long do you have to have been seeing someone before it’s okay to send 17 messages for every one reply? In my book, it’s two weeks maximum.
- Online dating is a total nightmare. Being sensitive out in the real world is one thing, but it’s a whole different ballgame when it comes to online dating. Thanks to modern dating apps, you can now be rejected up to ten times a day! Every guy that swipes left, I take as a personal affront—and that’s before I’ve even set foot out my front door.
- Not getting an immediate reply to a message is the worst kind of torture. You know the feeling of sending a jokey message, then panicking when you don’t receive an instant reply? Welcome to my world, my friend. As someone who’s surprisingly easily offended, I’m constantly stressing that I might have mortally wounded someone else’s emotions. I wish guys would do me a favor and save me the aggravation by replying as soon as he’s read my text.
- I’ll be lying awake thinking about his throwaway comment for the next week. Don’t get me wrong, I love a guy I can joke around with, but it’s a much more dangerous pass-time when you throw someone sensitive into the mix. He might think his comment was clearly a joke, but anything remotely personal and I’ll be mulling over his exact choice of words for weeks to come. Be prepared for it to resurface in an argument three years down the line.
- Letting someone down gently after one date sees me wracked with guilt for months. What’s the usual routine of a sensitive person who no longer wants to be in a relationship? Continue in a loveless turmoil potentially forever to avoid hurting the other person’s feelings. When the prospect of turning down a second date with a total weirdo fills you with dread, the idea of properly breaking up with someone is enough to cause a nervous breakdown.
- I assume the guy who’s ghosted me has died—why else would he not reply? When you send a super polite “it’s not you, it’s me” text to the guy you’ve been casually messaging for a few days, the idea that someone might just cut you off with no such thing as a word goodbye is totally unthinkable. I’ll be looking up his extended family to check on his well-being before I assume he’s ditched me.
- I need constant reassurance that he hasn’t randomly started hating me. If a guy doesn’t get in contact with me for a day, he should be prepared for me to assume that he’s lost interest and that I’m now dead to him. When you need constant reassurance that you’re actually a lovable, interesting person, being left to your own thoughts is a dangerous place to be. I wish he’d do me a favor and drop me a text every few hours to prevent this from happening.
- He’d better watch his online activity. If he’s got time to comment on that video Dave shared from Lad Bible (yes, I saw it), he’s definitely got time to like my new profile picture that I only put up to impress him in the first place. When you’re dating a sensitive girl, inaction is as dangerous as doing something wrong. If a guy wants to date me, my feelings have to come first.
