Getting Into The Dating "Scene" When You're Disabled or Elderly
_ If you've been married for a
long time and you're suddenly a widow or widower, it can be very tough to
contemplate spending time with someone else. In fact, it doesn't have to be
that way; if you really don't want to date again, you don't have to, but that
still doesn't mean life stops.
One of the most important things you must do is to keep your social ties open so that you aren't dealing with your grief and nothing else.
About grieving
Grieving is important, of course, and it's something you have to do in order to move through it and then on with life. And it's not as though you'll ever quite get over the loss of someone you've spent so much of your life with.
However, if you think about it for a minute, it's likely that you'll know that your loved one would want you to heal and then get back to living -- in a new way.
Should you consider "dating"?
This is really a tough question to consider, because you might feel as though you'll never want to date anyone again after you've lost your loved one. However, you may simply find one day that you are attracted to someone special, and if you are, then you should go ahead.
Before you do that, though, you can simply see this as a way to establish new friendships that have nothing to do, necessarily, with romance. Once you take the pressure off that way, it makes it easier to let it develop into something deeper more naturally, if that's going to happen.
And if you don't find someone "special" again, of course good friendships are still something that make life worth living. So don't discount good friendships, whether or not you think dating will be a part of your future again.
Disabled and "dating," too?
Of course, if you're disabled, it doesn't mean that you don't have romantic feelings and that you don't want to find someone special, too. And if you do, don't let anybody tell you that you can't. There is a saying that there's someone out there for everyone, and that's true of you, too.
Again, don't put pressure on yourself to make "romantic" connections. Instead, simply work to establish friendships with people who have like-minded interests similar to yours. You just might find that a spark flies between you and someone else with no pressure from you.
Finally, if you're "disabled," there can be a certain prejudice that you can only date other "disabled" people, too, but that's not necessarily true. Of course, don't limit your options no matter what you do. But don't discount someone just because they don't happen to be "disabled," either. Great partnerships happen in all shapes and sizes, and yours can, too.
The most important thing to remember is to establish friendships with people; from there, you might just be surprised. You might find yourself in a romantic relationship when you least expect it.
One of the most important things you must do is to keep your social ties open so that you aren't dealing with your grief and nothing else.
About grieving
Grieving is important, of course, and it's something you have to do in order to move through it and then on with life. And it's not as though you'll ever quite get over the loss of someone you've spent so much of your life with.
However, if you think about it for a minute, it's likely that you'll know that your loved one would want you to heal and then get back to living -- in a new way.
Should you consider "dating"?
This is really a tough question to consider, because you might feel as though you'll never want to date anyone again after you've lost your loved one. However, you may simply find one day that you are attracted to someone special, and if you are, then you should go ahead.
Before you do that, though, you can simply see this as a way to establish new friendships that have nothing to do, necessarily, with romance. Once you take the pressure off that way, it makes it easier to let it develop into something deeper more naturally, if that's going to happen.
And if you don't find someone "special" again, of course good friendships are still something that make life worth living. So don't discount good friendships, whether or not you think dating will be a part of your future again.
Disabled and "dating," too?
Of course, if you're disabled, it doesn't mean that you don't have romantic feelings and that you don't want to find someone special, too. And if you do, don't let anybody tell you that you can't. There is a saying that there's someone out there for everyone, and that's true of you, too.
Again, don't put pressure on yourself to make "romantic" connections. Instead, simply work to establish friendships with people who have like-minded interests similar to yours. You just might find that a spark flies between you and someone else with no pressure from you.
Finally, if you're "disabled," there can be a certain prejudice that you can only date other "disabled" people, too, but that's not necessarily true. Of course, don't limit your options no matter what you do. But don't discount someone just because they don't happen to be "disabled," either. Great partnerships happen in all shapes and sizes, and yours can, too.
The most important thing to remember is to establish friendships with people; from there, you might just be surprised. You might find yourself in a romantic relationship when you least expect it.