Dating With Narcolepsy

Dating with narcolepsy can be pretty tough, especially in today’s world. With all that is going on right now in the world, the most common way of meeting new people is on dating apps or online.

Dating profile icebreaker

Usually, for me, I like to put an ice breaker on my profile, including in some way of saying I have narcolepsy.

My favorite way to do this is putting 2 truths and a lie, with one of the truths being that I have narcolepsy. I would say that more people have thought that my having narcolepsy is the lie rather than 1 of the truths.

I'm still learning about narcolepsy

Aside from meeting people online, dating, in general, is tough for me. Being only diagnosed with narcolepsy for 2 years, I am still learning about it myself.

Letting someone in and telling them about my narcolepsy isn’t always easy. I think this is especially hard for me because up until recently, I have never even thought about dating since my diagnosis.

Mixed reactions to my narcolepsy

I find that I am thinking about how much I should share with someone upfront or if I should wait to tell them about it once things start to get more serious. I find myself having to almost be picky about who I let in my life in terms of dating because pretty often, things don’t go anywhere.

I have found that some have been very interested in learning about my narcolepsy, but then there are others who don’t even talk about it.

Finding someone who accepts my daily routines

I have found that I do things a certain way and have a pretty strict daily routine that some people think is just something I like to do when in reality, it is something I have to do to manage my symptoms.

I think finding someone who is okay with me doing things in a certain way and doesn’t think the routines I stick with are just something I prefer isn’t going to be easy.

I don't have extra energy to spend

Another thing I have found is that it has been difficult with having narcolepsy and dating, I have had to grow up a lot these last 2 years. I personally know what I want, and a lot of people I have met don’t seem to know what they want. It makes it hard to open up to someone because it can take up so much energy that I don’t have, and then I just end up getting hurt because that person finally made up their mind.

I find that getting to know people can take a lot of extra energy that I don’t necessarily have most days. I feel like I am constantly saying the same things to different people.

Does anyone have dating tips to share?

My main point in this article is that dating with narcolepsy is not easy for me. It takes a special person to really take the time to learn about narcolepsy and not judge me for the things I have to do to manage my symptoms as much as possible.

As someone with narcolepsy, have you found that dating is difficult? Do you have any tips for dating with narcolepsy?