Can you date if you are mentally ill?

Classic_Agency [he/him,comrade/them] to mentalhealth • 4 years ago

I (21M) have been mentally ill for a long time, and it is likely to take a long time before I get better. I have depression and severe addictions. I have been wanting a relationship for years now but I have been continually putting it off until I get better. With friends, I have never been able to get the amount of emotional intimacy I wanted. Plus I'm touch starved.

The problem is that I know that mental illness is not very attractive to people. I also don't have the most well-developed personality or identity as a result of my depression. And then there is of course the potential for the relationship not working out as a result of me becoming needy or emotionally dependent on the other person.

This is why I have put it off but with each passing year, I feel worse and worse about it. I just want to feel loved and wanted by someone really.

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