Yesterday I went on what I’m fairly certain was a date – I say this because we met through a dating app. We walked around for a little while, then went to have a drink and talked for a few hours. At the end of the evening we kissed goodbye before going our separate ways. I had a fun time and I’m fairly sure they did as well (based on body language etc.) and they’ve also messaged me since (they contacted me first). So far so good, right? The problem is that today my brain has not allowed me to relax (and not in a good way). I’ve felt what I’d define as a low-level anxiety in my head for most of the afternoon, which, among other things, has made it really difficult to concentrate on stuff.

On some level, it feels like my brain has been panicking and is trying to convince me to run away and I’m not sure why. I didn’t see any red flags yesterday that would cause me to panic – as I said, we both seemed to enjoy ourselves. I haven’t dated in a long time; this would be the third person I’ve dated in about 3 years and I didn’t date any of them for very long. I guess maybe I’m feeling uneasy because dating is unfamiliar to me and I’m not sure what I should be feeling, but what can I do about this? Just freaking out and pushing this person away isn’t really going to do anything in the long run, especially if I’m just going to feel the same thing whenever I next date someone.

For reference (in case it makes a difference), I did know this person prior to the date. We met about 3 ½ years ago and actually dated for about 2 months shortly after we met, but we’d both been dealing with our own personal dramas at the time, so we called it off after a couple of months – it was their decision, as they didn’t feel the time was right. We stayed friends, but didn’t see each other much, as we’re in different social circles. Another friend recently persuaded me to download a dating app, so I was scrolling through it for the first time, saw this person and (honestly not expecting anything) “liked” them and we matched. We talked for a bit and that brings us to the above. If nothing else, I’d like to know WHY I’m feeling this and what I can do about it. Any thoughts? Please help.

Tl;dr I’m freaking out after going on what felt like a good date, and I have no idea why.