Relationships

One of the biggest hurdles we have to overcome in order to find lasting love is our own dating history. Many of us have experienced heartbreak, which is a kind of trauma, and sometimes, you can get stuck in your feelings and apprehension without even realizing it.

The key to finding a healthy, lasting relationship and not repeating the same old mistakes in dating is to understand your past, and then to make a decision to move on from it. Easier said than done, because most of us have habits and patterns that are tough to break.

Following are some ways to help yourself move on into healthier dating patterns:

It’s 2016 and we should be over stereotypes about single women, yet they persist like acne on a teenage face. When not getting shoutouts from Beyonce, many single ladies still feel pressure to settle down “before it’s too late.”

Single men, on the other hand, are celebrated. We idolize the charmingly rakish Barney Stinsons of the world, propping their lifestyles up as something to aspire to. There’s just one problem: those men may be more unhappy in their singlehood than their solo-flying female counterparts.

According to a new study from Avvo, an online legal service company, more women feel positive about being single than men. A sample of over 2000 U.S. adults aged 18 and over participated in Avvo’s 2016 Relationship, Marriage, and Divorce Survey. Three out of four female participants said they’d rather be “alone, successful, and happy” than be in a disappointing relationship. Only 58% of male participants said they felt the same way.

Though the US Presidential Election is over, the nation remains deeply divided along party lines. Many Americans have made jokes about moving to Canada in the past, but this week, the Canadian immigration website’s server broke down because of all the traffic from unhappy American voters.

Enter Maple Match, a dating app which matches Americans and Canadians for potential romance. The company took an opportunity to make lemonade out of political lemons.

Maple Match was beta testing its service earlier this year, and this month seized the opportunity to launch its new app to help Americans feeling less than happy with their country’s choices. The app's tagline is “make dating great again,” similar to the slogan for President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign.

Maple Match’s technology is straightforward. It offers the same photo-based profile that Tinder does, but there is no swiping. You indicate your citizenship and your desired citizenship, and then you can look through potential matches and start messaging whomever you like.

Dating on its own is difficult, but when you’re an introvert, it can be both frustrating and exhausting.

Introverts aren’t anti-social (contrary to popular opinion), but while they do enjoy being with people, they also need more time alone to recharge. Think of it this way: extroverts get more energy by being around people and excitement, whereas introverts gain energy from taking a time-out.

So what does this mean when it comes to dating?

This Thanksgiving weekend eHarmony is offering users in the United States free communication. This offer runs for 5 days and starts Thursday November 23^rd and runs to the end of day Monday November 28^th (ends at 11:59PM PST). You can enjoy free communication on their website at eHarmony.com and the eHarmony dating apps (which you can find on Google Play and iTunes).

If you are interested in trying out eHarmony the first thing you need to do when you visit their website is create a free membership. This includes providing basic information about yourself like your email address, gender, and age. From there you will then be prompted to fill out the profile questionnaire. This takes about 30 minutes (you can pause and come back anytime to complete) and is important because your answers are used to match you with other eHarmony members who live in your area and who have compatible personalities. Once your profile is complete eHarmony will determine your first set of matches and send you them to you. From there you can then start communicating with the matches that peak your interest. Please note this free communication promotion does not include profile photos, secure call (an anonymous phone call service), or skipping the guided communication process to go straight to emailing. Also no credit card is required for this promotion.

For more information about this popular dating service please read our review of eHarmony.

It seems every online business is tapping into the lucrative and popular online dating industry. The latest newbie?  Goldstar, the company that offers online discounts for tickets to your favorite shows, events and concerts.

It makes sense for Goldstar to get involved in the dating scene, since they already provide tickets to fun events, a perfect setting for a blind date. How About We and other online dating services are already focused on matching people through events and by planning first dates, hoping to attract users who are tired of endlessly messaging matches, which can happen with apps like Tinder.

But how exactly does it work?