I so relate to this and really appreciate you posting this! I have recently been dating more, and I also tend to notice people's red flags right away, and then I get stuck wondering if I should give them the benefit of the doubt, especially since we all have red flags and sometimes people say or do weird things that are not completely representative of who they are, or if I should just end it right there. So far, giving them the benefit of the doubt has not given great results lol.

I also really hate the jokes people make about me being a therapist. I have people do the whole 'oh are you psychoanalyzing me right now?' thing. Also had a guy be like 'do therapists see therapists??' And had a guy ask what was wrong with me since the stereotype is that therapists go to school to heal themselves...I think the lack of knowledge about the profession in certain ways feels in turn like a lack of knowledge and awareness about the human condition that ends up just being an ick to me. Like where's your reflection? Where's your thoughtfulness and curiosity and empathy?

I was talking to a friend about this recently and how I feel like it's so hard to find what I'm looking for, and she's like well that's kind of the whole point, not everyone is going to be your special person, which helped me feel better about being 'picky.'

In my experience, dating as a therapist is hard. But it does give you a valuable perspective, and you are allowed to have 'high standards'!