First of all, sorry for rambling. If I haven't explained something very well, please ask for clarification and I'll happily give it. Anyway...

I’ve been dealing with an increase of stress/anxiety recently. There are currently a few things going in my life, which could be the reason I’m feeling stressed.

- I’ve started a new job
- I'm spending a lot of my free time training for a big sports competition coming up and am under a lot of pressure for it
- I’ve recently started dating someone
- I don’t feel like I’m getting enough sleep/being properly rested

Even if the fact that I’ve started dating someone isn’t the (primary) cause of my stress, I’m definitely thinking to myself that it is. I am so clueless when it comes to dating and I can’t seem to relax. I *think* that I tend to enjoy myself when I’m out with the other person, but I can’t help but worry about so many things when we’re apart. I care far too much about what other people think about things like this. I know I shouldn’t (trust me, I know), but I can’t help spend far too much time thinking about what people think about my love life (whether they approve/disapprove, what they’ll think if something doesn’t work out etc.) There’s also the fact that I haven’t dated someone in over 18 months (and before then it wasn’t often) and so I just have almost no idea how I’m supposed to feel.

I understand that there isn’t one set way people feel when they’re dating someone; there are so many different things you might feel dependent on what kind of person you (both) are, and what you’re looking for (long-term relationship, casual fling etc.) However, I just have no frame of reference for what I should be feeling. I don’t feel sad/down when I’m out with them, but is there a level of, say, positivity where I should be if things are going well? If I have a negative thought (e.g. I don’t whether this person is right for me), is it because I legitimately think that, or is it because my brain is panicking at the idea of me getting close to someone and wants to come up with any reason to prevent it? I don't have a lot of past experience to compare with these feelings either. All I really have are the memories of how (I think) I felt several years ago when I thought myself to be truly in love. Comparing how I feel now to how I think I was feeling years ago doesn’t seem a fair or sensible comparison.

I don’t want to get too carried away with any ridiculous lines of thought, but I’m finding it hard to keep myself calm. This stress isn’t going away and (as I mentioned at the start), even if it has nothing to do with me dating someone, on some level I clearly think it is and am getting myself far more worked up than I should. Any ideas? Thank you in advance.

Tl;dr I’ve started dating someone and I’m freaking myself out about it. Help.