Chronic Illness And The Dating Scene
- Susan Ardizzoni
- Jun 20, 2016
- 2 min read

Oh my goodness, the dating scene. Dating is difficult without chronic illness. But, if you are a person with chronic illness then you’ve probably been there. What is the best way to handle this? Well, there are certain things that you need to keep in mind no matter what your age.
Hopefully, this article will shed some light on the best way to handle this situation. Whatever you do, make sure you go slowly and think about how you’re going to interact with your date before you do anything. As you go along with your relationship, you’ll begin to get a feel for your partner and how to communicate with him/her.

First off, you need to be comfortable with yourself about your chronic illness. Just because you have an illness doesn’t mean that you can’t be loved for who you are. You must understand that you have the right to be happy like anyone else. So, check yourself out and see if you have low self-esteem. Low self-esteem will prevent you from finding someone simply because you won’t try. On the other hand, low self-esteem may make you communicate improperly and lose the very chance you have. Talk to yourself and paint a sense of well being and that will be uplifting and make you attractive to others. Your partner will not be able to concentrate on your illness but will see how wonderful you are.

When dating, the foremost thought on anyone’s mind is rejection. We all have this and it is so unsettling. So, rejection by someone your dating or even rejection about a job application is a part of life that none of us can get away from. If you have a chronic illness, no doubt this hits you even harder. Perhaps you tend to blame your disease for the rejection. What do you need to do? Well, bone up and take it like an adult. No need to be afraid of rejection. Learn from the experience in a positive way and move on. That’s the only way you will be successful.
Something else you need to consider is when and what to say something about your illness. There is no steadfast rule here but use common sense. You need to know something about the person you are dating. Are they indicating that they want to know a lot about you right up front or are they a kind of person who wants to take it slow and let things reveal themselves? See if you can figure this out and act accordingly.

The take home message is build self-esteem, remove any fear you have of rejection and pay attention to your date and what they’re all about. All of these things should allow you to communicate in the best possible way to ensure success. You will make mistakes but the more you date and gain experience the greater the opportunity for you to find someone to love and return that love. And, that’s true for all of us.
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