Elizabeth Stone

Lately, I’ve noticed that there is a lot of bad dating advice out there, even coming from relationship experts. While it’s all well intentioned— lots of the time the ideas keep women stuck and in pain.

If you’re prone to self sabotage like I used to be, it’s a downright destructive force. If you’re not quite sure what’s ailing you when it comes to failed after failed relationship, see if you have any of these destructive mindsets.

Having standards isn’t simply expecting that things will go a certain way, it’s focused attention on what you really WANT, then making the effort to change or get rid of anything that doesn’t meet your standards.

While a fling with a bad boy can be fun, bad boys are the junk food of the dating world. Good for a quick bite in a pinch, but bad for your long term health.

Sometimes the most intelligent of us fall victim to the idea that we can “try” ourselves into better relationships with people who frankly, will never give us the kind of love that we really want.

Before people are ready to make changes in their lives, they’ll engage in all manners of bizarre behavior to avoid conflict.

It is harder than it sounds to get away from a bad date without needlessly being rude, offending them, and/or making a total fool out of yourself. But with experience, I’ve learned how to handle all of the above. Here are my 6 tips for how to survive a bad date.

Ever had that uneasy sick feeling in your gut, wondering if your partner is about to break up with you?

Be jealous for no reason. Did you feel like they might be ogling the waitress or waiter? Point it out in dramatic fashion.

I firmly believe that there is someone (likely more than one) for everyone. However, the idea that you need to “be yourself” and they will magically pop out of the woodwork when you aren’t actively TRYING (in all senses of the word) is a really slippery slope.

For all our decent times together, there was one glaring problem. He didn’t really “get” my sense of humor.

When you’re keeping track of each slight and injury, including some you have probably failed to mention, it insures that nothing is resolved.