- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 9h
ROCD and Uncertainty After a First Date
I went on a date with someone from Hinge today. She reached out to me first to see if I was interested and I said yes. For the purposes of this anonymity I’ll call her Sydney. Sydney was very outgoing and warm, and she was very playful and easy to flirt with. But where I struggled was with a near constant feeling of discomfort during the date that I felt while trying to adjust to meeting her. I struggle with ROCD and I would say it is my most serious subtype because it has been a consistent roadblock in me trying to start relationships with people since I began dating. I was in one relationship for 4 months where I (mostly) navigated without knowing I had OCD, but I began to obsess over little details and imperfections in that girl that led to the relationship falling apart. Now as I try to get to know Sydney, there are things about her certain mannerisms that are tripping me up. Part of it is I am always on the search for red flags - my OCD tells me that it’s trying to protect me from threats. When someone does something I perceive as mean or inconsiderate or doesn’t go out of their way to be nice, I get scared and think they are a mean person I should avoid. In this case, I asked Sydney what her birthday was, and she told me but then didn’t ask for mine. This especially hurt since my birthday happens before hers will and her not knowing that seemed like she didn’t care enough to ask. I took it very personally and my OCD immediately started making generalizations about how cruel she is and how she is a rude and vindictive person in disguise. There’s also the matter of her talking through most of the last half hour of the date without leaving much room for me to interject. The first hour or so of our date was pretty good, she asked me a few questions and we stayed on topic about me a good bit. But in the later half it felt like we were focusing primarily on her life and her thoughts without leaving much room for me to say much. Maybe that is an ego thing, but to me I read it as her being inconsiderate of me. These two things have made me seriously question whether I want a second date. The thing is, I’m not sure. I’m leaning towards no because of the power my ROCD has over me, but I’m trying to be optimistic and give her another chance. I feel like I’m fighting the battle of my life against ROCD. It’s so loud and negative in my mind. I just want to be in a relationship with a good person who cares about me and my well being and who will work as hard as me to keep the relationship moving.