Dating is tricky for anyone, but we know that some disabled people can find it harder. But one thing that can help is a positive attitude. If you don’t love yourself, how is someone else going to love you, right? So, the disabled dating experts at Disabled Mate have put together five ways in which you can stay positive.
Dating is not a craft that a person can master, like carpentry, for example. No, it’s a rather special form of social interaction that requires a specific set of skills and good chemistry between the two people.
All of this can sound a bit too much, especially if you are the part of the disabled singles dating community. But with a few tips and a positive mindset, you can conquer the dating world regardless of your disability.
Given that an optimistic attitude and self-assurance are essential for romantic success, we’ve listed five useful tips on how you can keep a positive mindset while dating.
- You shouldn’t let your disability define you
This is one of the most important tips. But, unfortunately, it’s often easier said than done. If you find that you’re overly focused on your disability and can’t see anything else, you’ll also find it hard to hold on to all those amazing traits that make you unique.
But if you want to have a rich and interesting love life, you have to try to leave all that “but I’m disabled”-mindset behind. You shouldn’t let your impairment define you because this will only deepen the existing prejudices about disabled people, and you don’t want that, do you?
If you can instead represent yourself as the interesting, kind, and funny individual you are to others, your dates won’t mind that you’re disabled. The hardest part is that you have to genuinely believe it, too.
- You have to learn to love yourself
As well as learning to not focus on your disability, it’s important to learn to love your personality. The capacity to love someone else is often related to our capacity to love ourselves. Make sure you’re kind to yourself and don’t let the anger consume you.
Think about all your best traits – what do your friends and family love about you. Channel your disability into your strength. You have a unique and wholesome personality, so make sure you celebrate it anytime you can.
- Accept your disabled body
Learning how to live with your disabled body is paramount. This isn’t a naturally easy thing for everyone to do. But, nevertheless, you have to do it if you want to be successful on the dating scene. Accepting your own body and overcoming your insecurities will undoubtedly help you attract other singles.
If you feel comfortable enough in your skin, you will radiate the right kind of energy and will consequently become more attractive to all your potential partners. It takes some practice, but it’s very much doable.
- Don’t take rejection personally
Rejection is one of the worst things about dating. But it happens to everyone, disabled or not. However, we know that some disabled people have been rejected in the cruellest ways, and that can knock your confidence and make you want to retreat.
Still, you need to keep in mind that most of these rejections happen because people are unable to see past your injury or condition – so it’s not about your personality or something you did. This equally hurts, we know.
But try to look at it this way – it also gives you the opportunity to weed out everyone who’s not suitable for you and find someone who will know how to appreciate and love you for who you are.
- Ignore all the stigmas
Unfortunately, there can be a lot of stigma around dating and disabilities. These misconceptions can trick people into thinking that disabled men and women are not worth their time and effort. If they do, it speaks volumes about them and not you. Don’t beat yourself up over being different.
So, if you want to have a happy and successful love life, you have to find a way to ignore those hurtful myths and cut off mean people from your life. Not only will introducing these healthy changes help you feel better about yourself, but you will also significantly improve your love life.
What was your biggest dating challenge so far? Did it make you a better person? We’d really like to hear from you in the comments below!
By Disabled Mate
More on Disability Horizons…
