Dhp wrote:
I now understand the benefits of having a girlfriend, but having one argue and yell at you all of the time, play games, and criticize you for everything you do is too much of a risk for me to take. Perhaps living alone and depressed is the better route. Any thoughts?
I've done the hermit thing since about 2005. There are times and purposes for which hermitry works and is necessary. The stress of my PhD work made me difficult to live with, and I was desperate to get away from having roommates when I started living alone. I am just now starting to come out of it, form a few friendships, attend sailing club activities and parties again and move on to having a salary. Maybe I'll find a wife at some point.
These issues aren't specific to the girlfriend issue. There are other kinds of relationships that can become restricted out of necessity in times of stress. The last thing one needs is more people nagging when struggling. Girlfriends aren't a worry, though. The trick is to find one, and then deal with what comes. Odds are that you just won't get one to stay if she has reason to complain, and she won't tell you why. When you first meet a woman, if she sees something she doesn't like, she'll go "eh" and walk away, instead of nagging you.
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A boy and his dog can go walking
A boy and his dog sometimes talk to each other
A boy and a dog can be happy sitting down in the woods on a log
But a dog knows his boy can go wrong