Should I "fix myself" before looking for love?

Page 1 of 2 [ 23 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next

LimboMan
Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl

Joined: 24 Feb 2016
Gender: Male
Posts: 138
Location: England

14 Dec 2016, 5:03 pm

I do seek my first relationship and I really do wish to have a partner, but I can't help but be conscious how many problems I have. I have a lot of social anxiety, I suffer from extreme mood changes which make me do rash things, I get very paranoid and there is so many other things I struggle with that I fear I would get in the way, or be an inconvenience to somebody else. But I've been saying for years I will try fix myself but feel its not getting any better. I'm a very sensitive person and I don't have a job (but a student) and I don't have very many friends as I enjoy pursuing my interests by myself. But I want to experience the world with someone else quite frankly. But I don't know if I should work on myself and low self esteem more, or if I should forget about it.
Any advice on what would be a good thing to do? I am inside the house quite a lot so this probably dosen't help finding a partner does it :roll:


_________________
Diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome (mildly)


hurtloam
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 27 Mar 2011
Gender: Female
Posts: 8,747
Location: Eyjafjallajökull

14 Dec 2016, 5:15 pm

You just answered your own question. If you want to experience more. Go out and explore.

What do you want to do? Where do you want to go? Start doing those things and you'll meet other people through that hobby who enjoy those things too.



Canary
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 27 Sep 2016
Age: 36
Gender: Female
Posts: 603
Location: Midwest

14 Dec 2016, 5:40 pm

I don't think people need to be perfect, but I think they need to be ready to give at least some focus to the relationship, not to themselves. If someone is 100% focused on how bad they feel and finding ways to feel better, there's not much left to focus on how the other person feels. People will always have some degree of anxiety, stress, unhappiness, fear, or trouble in their life. Once one problem is on its way out, another inevitably walks in the door before long...

Relationships aren't substitutes for self-esteem, hobbies, or anything else in life and I don't think people should look to them as that.



ProfessorJohn
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 26 Jun 2014
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,153
Location: The Room at the end of 2001

14 Dec 2016, 11:09 pm

What have you tried to do so far to "Fix yourself"?



LimboMan
Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl

Joined: 24 Feb 2016
Gender: Male
Posts: 138
Location: England

15 Dec 2016, 10:47 am

I've tried doing thought challenging which has helped to some degree. But I am very sensitive to many things which is why recently I haven't been outside much.


_________________
Diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome (mildly)


ProfessorJohn
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 26 Jun 2014
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,153
Location: The Room at the end of 2001

15 Dec 2016, 1:53 pm

Have you ever sought counseling for the social anxiety?



League_Girl
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 4 Feb 2010
Gender: Female
Posts: 27,280
Location: Pacific Northwest

15 Dec 2016, 2:01 pm

Yes I do think you should work on yourself first before getting into a relationship. As someone who has been with someone who had low self esteem and a real low self image of himself and was very sensitive and who was paranoid and cared too much what others thought of him, he acted emotionally abusive and controlling so please do work on yourself so you don't abuse your partner and control them.

I would suggest you get a therapist so they can help you work your way through your problems.


_________________
Son: Diagnosed w/anxiety and ADHD. Also academic delayed and ASD lv 1.

Daughter: NT, no diagnoses. Possibly OCD. Is very private about herself.


The_Face_of_Boo
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 16 Jun 2010
Age: 42
Gender: Non-binary
Posts: 33,098
Location: Beirut, Lebanon.

15 Dec 2016, 2:18 pm

League_Girl wrote:
Yes I do think you should work on yourself first before getting into a relationship. As someone who has been with someone who had low self esteem and a real low self image of himself and was very sensitive and who was paranoid and cared too much what others thought of him, he acted emotionally abusive and controlling so please do work on yourself so you don't abuse your partner and control them.

I would suggest you get a therapist so they can help you work your way through your problems.


Not every guy with self-esteem/social anxiety will have an abusive character and abuse their partner.

The two flaws have nothing to do with each other, there are many over confident men who abuse their SO.

I keep seeing weird reasoning on WP lately. :-/ It is boiling my blood.



amykitten
Velociraptor
Velociraptor

User avatar

Joined: 17 Sep 2013
Gender: Female
Posts: 480

15 Dec 2016, 2:38 pm

Maybe you can start fixing yourself whilst looking for love at the same time. Why does it have to one or the other? You'll probably find they might work well along side each other.



smudge
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 6 Sep 2006
Age: 37
Gender: Female
Posts: 7,716
Location: Moved on

15 Dec 2016, 2:43 pm

I've found "fixing yourself" before finding a relationship to be a big myth. People don't change that easily.


_________________
I've left WP.


QuillAlba
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 7 Jul 2015
Age: 49
Posts: 2,739
Location: Scotland

15 Dec 2016, 3:18 pm

You are autistic, you are going to spend a hell of a lot of time in your head;therefore remember to decorate your mind with lots of beautiful things, whether that is from books,music,film or pornography.
Get out of the house into nature, avoid people, find somewhere you can access that it's just you and trees. I realise this sounds stupid but it's like some form of recharging, I like to walk around a forest, just walk and think, no damn people.
I don't know how to meet a partner, I'm leaning towards that you focus on yourself and take care of your mental health needs as a priority, this in turn raises mood and makes us more attractive to those seeking a partner.

Be confident, you have loads of people from all over the planet rooting for you, don't dismiss that, think on it.



Alliekit
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 12 Mar 2016
Age: 30
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,182
Location: England

15 Dec 2016, 4:32 pm

You are doing a degree so arent you already kind of helping yourself.

Being autistic and doing a degree is really hard and it is commendabe so maybe don't worry too much about the other stuff. I mean like it's good to improve yourself but be careful you don't take on too much.

I am a student and don't have a job either because I would'nt be able to work and study at the same time so don't worry about that too much.



Sweetleaf
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 6 Jan 2011
Age: 35
Gender: Female
Posts: 34,949
Location: Somewhere in Colorado

15 Dec 2016, 5:18 pm

You don't have to completely 'fix yourself' as you put it, I myself have anxiety and depression issues and am in a relationship....I have gotten help for those issues, but they aren't completely fixed I still have to manage them. Also obviously the aspergers can't be fixed, though with that as well I have found ways to deal with some of the negative aspects of it. But yeah certainly don't neglect your mental health, but you can work on it while looking for a relationship.


_________________
We won't go back.


nick007
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 4 May 2010
Gender: Male
Posts: 27,709
Location: was Louisiana but now Vermont in capitalistic military dictatorship called USA

16 Dec 2016, 12:11 am

amykitten wrote:
Maybe you can start fixing yourself whilst looking for love at the same time. Why does it have to one or the other? You'll probably find they might work well along side each other.
I was going to post something like that. Don't focus on fixing yourself just so you can have a better chance at finding someone. Focus on fixing yourself for yourself.


_________________
"I don't have an anger problem, I have an idiot problem!"
~King Of The Hill


"Hear all, trust nothing"
~Ferengi Rule Of Acquisition #190
https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Ru ... cquisition


Moccu
Pileated woodpecker
Pileated woodpecker

User avatar

Joined: 4 Sep 2015
Posts: 182
Location: Ontario

16 Dec 2016, 12:42 am

There's always things you can personally work on, some being long-term or short-term commitments. Normally all a person can do right away is change some annoying habits, like learning to pick up after yourself and doing the dishes sooner instead of later.

I think I've changed a lot in the past year or two, but it feels more like I've just evolved or grown up a little bit more. My superficial problems are different, but problems are still problems.

I'm still pretty neurotic, anxious, and have mood-swings all of the time, but I've found someone that can just deal with how crazy I am, and see it as normal and what's expected of me, lol. Because I'm me.

I don't think I can ever completely fix parts of myself, but I've learned to cope with my ongoing problems and find ways to distract and redirect myself when I'm very anxious.

Everyone is constantly growing, what some of your issues are now may not be a issue someday. If you can't get past some of them, so be it. Work on what you want to work on, but don't let anyone rush or put you down for trying and not succeeding yet.

No one is met while they're perfect, so there's no need to strive to be perfect before a relationship. Be open to things, and enjoy them.


_________________
Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 29 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 193 of 200
You are very likely neurotypical


RetroGamer87
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 30 Jul 2013
Age: 37
Gender: Male
Posts: 11,085
Location: Adelaide, Australia

22 Dec 2016, 9:14 pm

Your partner probably won't fix herself before or after you commence a relationship with her so why should you fix yourself?


_________________
The days are long, but the years are short