Does anyone have experience figuring out if they're aro/ace? This is all over been thinking about lately. I've realized I've never imagined myself in a relationship, I only tried dating because it felt like I was supposed to. I don't relate to the idea of having a crush or being in love. I've lived alone for the past 7 years and only went on dates when prodded.
I used to feel bad about it, like I was missing something, but also I realized I've never attempting dating completely unprompted.
I'm otherwise ok with myself. I don't feel like something's missing, but I do feel very awkward around other people since my life is a lot more solitary. Never having a romantic partner would be alright with me, but I'm struggling with my self-image and how I'm gonna relate to people for the rest of my life. Since I'm at an age where most of my peers have lives revolving around spouses and kids. Am I aro/ace then or do I gotta do more examination of myself?
Labeling myself feels important because it would give context to my experiences and help me relate to others. It's a constant thing in my life where I fail to relate to them on the grounds of sexuality and romance, and I'm only just now figuring that out. I just thought I had nerdier interests, but now I think it's something more profound than that. So that's why I can't stop thinking about it.
At the very least I hope this will make me feel more comfortable with myself. I've felt a weird sort of guilt for a long time that I'm not dating, that I don't have a partner, I'm not having sex, etc. Like I'm wasting something important. But now I'm realizing that's not my guilt, it's a social imposition on me.
I'll talk to a therapist about this soon, you're right.