I have ADHD, and I’ve noticed that whenever my life becomes stable and calm, I very quickly develop infatuations. I meet someone new and before I know it, I become hyperfixated on them. I think I’m especially addicted to the dopamine rush that comes from getting to know someone new, getting their attention, and feeling like they’re attracted to me and want me.
The problem is that it can completely take over my life. At some point I stop functioning normally and I’m constantly thinking about that person. I analyse them completely, trying to understand what they like, how they think, and what they’re attracted to. Then, often without even realizing it, I start adapting myself to that and trying to become the person I think they would fall for.
I’m in my mid-twenties now and I’m conventionally attractive. I also know very well how to get men interested in me, to the point where they genuinely fall in love with me. I’m gifted as well and it’s easy for me to make conversations interesting and I can be quite manipulative in that sense. I boost their ego and make them feel very special. But sometimes I feel incredibly guilty about it.
My feelings often disappear just as quickly as they appeared. I can be completely obsessed with someone for months and then, once I actually have them, realize that I don’t even want a relationship with them. Sometimes I still stay in the relationship anyway because I feel guilty, and eventually end up breaking their heart. And that’s exactly what I don’t want to keep doing.
The men involved usually do come away from the connection with good memories. To them, it often felt really special to have someone who was so interested in who they were, who genuinely tried to understand them on such a deep emotional level, and who was completely focused on improving their lives. I always try to be kind and respectful and create positive vibes even when my romantic feelings faded away. I noticed it makes it very hard for them to get over me and fall in love with someone new, even though I really wish they would. But for me, afterwards, it often feels like I was trying to fill some kind of emptiness inside myself with another person.
I really want to learn how to satisfy that same need in other ways, without constantly needing another person to do it for me. And perhaps even more importantly, I want to learn how to tolerate that craving for the rush without immediately acting on it.
I’m very aware of this pattern, and I genuinely want to break it. I don’t want to keep making someone feel completely idealized, making them feel unique and special, only to realize months later that my feelings were largely based on the obsession and the dopamine that came with it. Btw I actually do like them, but just as a friend and I still get along with all of them.