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9/25/2005
Too Ugly or Too Old To Love?
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Too Ugly or Too Old To Love?Dear Dr. Tracy,I`ve written several times-but I`ve never seen my question in your Column. I feel I have a real problem--I`m a 34 yr old female who`s never had a Boyfriend-nor ever been on a date. Every guy I`ve ever been interested in has turned me down--even though we`ve shared similar interests. I don't Think I`m rock bottom ugly-but to every guy I must appear to be. I have a good personality, great sense of humor, and enjoy music, movies and Sports. I would think those qualties would spark an interest for someone. I`m tired of seeing everyone else around me fall into romance so easily--while for me, its impossible. Is there really someone for everyone-or should i just accept the fact that its my destiny to be alone? I find it hard to believe that at my age someone is actually going to be interested in me.
Dear Never Had a Boyfriend,You are not alone. I hear from lots of men and women who are in your exact same predicament. They are often people who have concentrated on their careers and neglected to make time to date. Now, when they're older, it's harder.So what are the rules for finding someone to love when you're older and wiser? 1. Choose instead of waiting to be chosen. This starts with getting out there and finding a quantity of eligible men to choose from. Join Match.com and other similar sites on the internet. Join a dating service. Put an ad in the paper. You're not in a position to go to a bar and compete with 22-year-olds in a Cute Contest. Instead, use your wits and compete with brains instead of cute. 2. Date only those men who respond to you right away. Don't waste time trying to turn some guy's head when he really isn't interested in you. 3. Choose only from among those men who are eligible and available. That means pick guys who are ready to settle down. You can usually tell from their "profiles." Think about men who've made commitments before instead of a guy who's never been married or committed. And especially, for those like you who've never had a date or a special boyfriend -- practice, practice, practice. It's unrealistic to think that someone who's never had a date will go out on a first date and fall in love for life. Dating is a skill that you get better at. You don't want to wait until you get Mr. Wonderful to practice on. Start out with someone who's not exactly your ideal guy. Successful dating and having a relationship doesn't just happen. You have to practice. If your social skills are lacking, join a dinner or lunch club and watch how others socialize. Then model those who do it best. Don't accept that your destiny is to be alone anymore than you would accept that your destiny is to be unemployed. Get out and do something about it if you want to have a relationship. Be willing to spend time, money and energy -- just as you would to get a career or anything else you want in life. Be flexible and willing to change. Be positive. A negative attitude (like the one I see in your letter) will drive men away. And read my book, "How to Make A Man Fall In Love With You," for some great ways to get a man's attention. Good luck, Dr. Tracy
 In Love and ScaredDear Dr. Tracy,Help!! I am so frustrated with myself and need some of your fabulous advice!In theory, I know I am a very attractive woman - I am fit, bright, funny, and darn cute. I am certainly not perfect but I have enough going for me that I should be pretty happy with myself and secure in what I have to offer a guy. And yet, whenever I get into a relationship, all of these horrible insecurities crop up. When I first start dating someone, everything is peachy. But once I start to develop some serious feelings for the person I start to worry frantically about getting hurt. Right now I am in a realtionship with a wonderful guy. We have been seeing eachother for 5 months and are exclusive. We have been happy as clams. But BOOM - here come those insecurities of mine right on schedule. It's as if my heart says, "Uh oh, I am in love, the other shoe is going to drop any day now and I am going to get my heart broken - better prepare! Buckle your seatbelts, it's gonna be a bumpy night!" Knowing I have this problem, I tried to beat these feelings to the punch this time by reading all I could about new realtionships, including your great website. I thought if I did everything right in the beginning, I would feel secure. I did not give too much, I am very much my own person - I think I did a good job protecting myself early on and the feelings we now have for eachother are real and good. Alas, my heart is still scared as all get out. Dr. Tracy, this guy has given me no reason whatsoever to worry. He _is_ a great catch but darn it, so am I! I have not told him about these feelings because I don't want to freak him out. I know its all in my head. How can I just let go and enjoy this sweet man? I am so scared I am going to blow it!
Dear Scared,Even the most secure women get scared when they fall in love. There's nothing that will terrify you more. That's a normal reaction.The reason is that you realize how important that other person has become in your life, and how much you can be hurt by them. Fear of losing your love is normal and everyone has it. The main thing to remember is that even if you feel afraid, you don't have to act on that fear and insecurity. So don't tell your sweet man how scared you are that you're going to blow it. Instead, act as if you're the most secure happy lucky woman in the world who knows her love will go on forever. And, if you act as if you are secure, you might as well be secure. There is a theory that action leads feelings. In other words, acting happy will make you feel happy. Use positive affirmations. Tell yourself over and over like a mantra, "I love (insert name) and (insert name) loves me." Realize that you've had your heart broken before and you've survived. So that's not the worse thing in the world that could happen to you. On the other hand, you have a grand chance to not get your heart broken this time. After all, you can only strike out so many times and then it's your turn to hit a home run. Feeling insecure and worrying and wondering is part of the "in love" feeling. Everybody has it. It's part of the ride. You may have missed "Why People Love" in my library; read that and you'll understand why these feelings are normal. Good luck, Dr. Tracy
Mother-In-Law from HellDear Dr. Tracy,I have been married to my wife for two years, and we have been together for over 9. I love her more than anything in this world, and for the most part our relationship is wonderful. We have battled our differences, problems, and conflicts like warriors, and managed to always come through shining, however, I am defeated when it comes to her family; mostly her mother.Her family has put me down and degraded me from day one. Her mother is very controlling and bitter. She relies very much on my wife to take care of her mentally handicapped brother, and then use the rest of her time doing things for her. She does not respect our marriage, nor does she respect me or my family. She has purposely embarrassed me at family functions (which I endure out of respect for my wife), and attacked me for things that I could never possibly done (which she knows as well), so as to cause me grief. I have never tried to cause any conflict or fight back because I know that my wife is afraid of her, and I did not want to make things any harder for her. I did not realize it, but I have been letting all of these things build up in me. Last week my wife has surgery. She was in the operating room for more than 4 hours. During that time, her mother sat in the family lounge and verbally attacked me and my very kind family over and over again. My gracious mother held her tongue while I received embarrassing stab after painful jab, again, for my wife. Her mother then informed me in recovery that she was taking my wife home with her. I told her that she was mistaken, but I would be happy to come and pick up her and her son any time she liked so they could come visit my wife. It lead to a big blow up and the story got distorted right away, and I was continually harassed by their family the whole two days at the hospital. My point is that I feel very abused, and also second best in my wife's life. She has never stood up for me, yet is ready to tear anyone to shreds that says a thing about her mother. I don't feel like our marriage is a priority when it comes to her family. I have given and given and given, and now I am over the edge, and I can not get over it. I don't know what to do. These horrible feelings are eating away at me, and I can not get over the hurt that I feel over these issues. I know that she is afraid, but I don't feel respected or to be honest, loved to the fullest. This has been a startling realization, and I am scared for us. I have told my wife how I feel about all of this, and she says that she is sorry, and she should have done something, but I still don't see it, because she is sweet as ever when her mom calls. I am not asking her not to see them, just to let them know who I am in her life and that they can not disrespect our marriage like that. I guess the main question is: Who REALLY am I in her life??? Signed: Desperate for Inner Peace
Dear Desperate for Inner Peace,There's nothing worse that being trapped with a difficult family member, especially when it's your mate's parent. It's hard to avoid them, but you must.The world is full of toxic people and your mother-in-law is one of them. Tell your wife in no uncertain terms that you are finished taking her abuse. Tell your wife you will no longer put up with it, and that the next time your mother-in-law insults you, you will leave wherever you are. Your wife can either come with you or not, but you will not stay and be abused. Your mother in law's abuse will probably never stop as long as she can get to you or your wife. But you will feel better if you stop just taking it. This is a matter of your mental health. You must protect yourself and your sanity. Your self-esteem will go right in the toilet unless you stand up for yourself. Tell your wife that you understand how she feels about her mother, but that you expect her to put you first. If she can't do that, you will simply leave on any occasion when you are insulted. Let your wife know that her actions have made you feel unloved, and tell her exactly what she could do to make you feel loved. Get a counselor for you and your wife to talk to. Your wife needs to learn to say no to her mother when her mother is being abusive. I recommend a book by Pete Smith called "When I Say No, I Feel Guilty," which you can probably find in your library. Good luck, Dr. Tracy
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