Addicted to Relationships

After talking with a friend the other day, I came to a sort of realization. It was one of those times where you knew it all along, but it still amazes you when you actually admit it to yourself. It was awesome, and troubling at the same time.

Anyhow, we were talking about relationships (yay for stereotypical teenage topics) and boys, gossiping yatta yatta yatta, when she had said something akin to "If only I had only dated a fraction of the people you have, then I'd be a happy camper." It was a joke, but it was sort of epiphany for me. I went through and counted how many people I've dated in my almost 17 years of life, and the number was well over 15--and I had only started dating the summer leading up to freshman year.

Immediately, the thought crossed my mind: "Oh, god...I'm a *****. I'm like Taylor Swift's prodigy...accept I don't have the cute twang-thing in my voice." Fastforward an hour or two and cue a I-must-eat-away-my-emotions ice cream session. This is actually where my epiphany occurred...I'm not a *****; I'm just addicted to being in a relationship. Doesn't really matter who, as long as they're there. I guess I've been filling my emptiness inside with people.

Anyone else been eating away their souls because of this, or is it just me?

I think the fastest way for you to be happy is to drop "*****" and "addicted" from your active vocabulary altogether. Also, once a number is over 10 (=what you can count with your fingers), stop counting - there is a reason we only have 10 fingers.

Do eat ice cream and do not eat away your emotions and souls.

When all of this is said and done, you can start figuring out whether you like being with various people because you like something about it, or, because you are filling emptiness within.

Also, to the extent that "feeling emptiness within" is a thought that came to your mind to describe yourself, you might benefit from therapy.

Dating a lot of people in such a short times seems to have become a lifestyle you chose. It was exciting and when each relationship ended you looked for the next exciting relationship. It is great that you have realized now that although you may have got a great buzz from all these relationships, they really served no greater purpose in your life. Maybe you were filling emptiness, or maybe just doing what you thought teens should do. There is a sense of power in being able to attract guys, there is also the opposite when you don't feel like you are getting that attention. You need to develop a sense of power and self importance in other areas of your life now. Make some rules for yourself regarding dating. How much time you will spend with boy interests vs your friends each week, how long you should spend single between each relationship. Slow down this game and focus on lasting pursuits. On the up side... Going to college without a boyfriend is really the best way to go. Being single by choice is very empowering.