Coping With Ghosting

How to Feel Safe and Secure In Relationships After Being Ghosted

• Gretta

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Have you ever felt nervous about making new friends because you're concerned that they'll ghost you? Do you feel anxious and struggle with trust in relationships?
Have you ever been concerned about your physical safety while dating? If you answered YES to any of these questions, this show's for you.
Karen Robinson, MSW, ACSW, LCSW, CCTP-II, a seasoned mental health therapist and trauma recovery expert, brings her wealth of experience to the table. She joins Gretta to discuss the heavy toll ghosting can take on our trust and how to navigate new relationships. Karen shares practical strategies to help you create new connections, overcome the fear of opening up to others, and feel more safe and secure in relationships.

Connect with Karen Robinson, MSW, ACSW, LCSW, CCTP-II at Heal, Thrive, Dream:
Karen's CBT Classes

Connect With Gretta:
Take Your Power Back Workshop
Free and Private Facebook Support Group |  Instagram | copingwithghosting.com

BetterHelp:
Go to https://betterhelp.com/copingwithghosting for 10% off your first month of therapy with BetterHelp and get matched with a therapist who will listen and help #sponsored

Mediation App:
Insight Timer

Music: "Ghosted" by Gustavo Zaiah

Disclaimer: This information is designed to mentor and guide you to cope with Ghosting by cultivating a positive mindset and implementing self-care practices. It is for educational purposes only; it solely provides self-help tools for your use. Coping With Ghosting is not providing health care or psychological therapy services and is not diagnosing or treating any physical or mental ailment of the mind or body. The content is not a substitute for therapy or any advice given by a licensed psychologist or other licensed or other registered professionals. 

Ghosted? We've got you covered. Download Coping With Ghosting 101. This workshop's designed to help you better understand why ghosting happens, ways to feel better now, and actionable steps to take your power back. Your purchase will help support this podcast, so it’s a win-win!

Note to All Listeners: Ghosting is defined as: The practice of ending a personal relationship with someone by suddenly and without explanation withdrawing from all communication (Oxford Languages).
When you leave an abusive situation without saying "goodbye," it's not ghosting, it's "self-protection." When you quietly exit a relationship after a boundary has been violated, it's not ghosting, it's "self-respect."

Gretta:

Welcome to Coping with Ghosting, the podcast that provides hope, healing and understanding for anyone who has been ghosted. I'm your host, Gretta, and if you're struggling to feel safe and secure in a romantic relationship or friendship after being ghosted, this show is for you. My guest, Karen Robinson, is a mental health therapist, trauma recovery expert and transformation coach with 25 years of clinical experience. Karen's also the host of the Heal Thrive Dream podcast and CEO and founder of Heal Thrive Dream, a mother-daughter company that includes a wide range of services and products for women recovering from trauma. Thank you so much for joining me today, Karen.

Karen Robinson:

Thank you, Gretta, for such a nice intro today.

Gretta:

Karen, after I was ghosted by my friend in high school, I was scarred, okay. So when I went off to college I honestly was afraid to make new friends because I felt like it was going to happen again, cause I have been super close to my friend at my school. But one day I went up to her to ask her something and she just turned around and walked away and that was the last time I talked to her for years and years. So it really took me a while to open up to people in college and begin to feel safe in relationships again romantic and friendships and I know that many of my listeners are hesitant to open their hearts and start dating or make new friends after experiencing the trauma of being ghosted. So I'd love for you to dive into ways that listeners can feel safe in relationships.

Karen Robinson:

Sure thing. The first thing I would like to say is I am so sorry that happened to you, not kind, and you deserved much better than that. For listeners who have experienced this, I think it's really important to remember not to give up on building relationships with others. There's several reasons for that, but the main reason is that we heal within community. We are made to be in relationship with one another and, yes, that means being hurt from time to time. Healing is possible, hope is possible.

Karen Robinson:

I think working on our self-talk after an event like that is huge. Self-talk ideas would be saying things like I deserve to be in healthy relationships. I am lovable. I have the ability to make close friendships. Now, if those don't resonate with you because you talk in a different way, that's okay. Like it's practicing and finding the words that will work for you. Nothing will work for everyone the same way because we're not cookies, right, so cookie cutter approaches just don't tend to work Like for me. I love the belief. I am lovable After I experience a relationship with someone that's unkind or unhealthy, toxic.

Karen Robinson:

It almost takes the triple the effort and there is research behind this. I don't know the exact stat or number. Our brain gravitates to the negativity, because we need those warnings for survival. So it takes a lot more positive statements to kind of override our negative experiences, to override that negative tape that's playing so, feeding yourself lots and lots of affirmations or counters. Again, I deserve healthy relationships. I am lovable whatever it is for you. So that's my biggest suggestion.

Karen Robinson:

Now, some people, because of our subconscious saboteur I'm not sure if I'm saying that right word right now, but we still sabotage a lot and so if that's you and if you're someone that changing your thoughts is more difficult, then I would recommend taking courses in cognitive behavioral therapy and I teach that. I have a basic level and an advanced level, but there's also workbooks and things like that that you can purchase to help you with that and what that does. It helps you track your negative thinking style, it helps you challenge your thoughts by teaching different analytical tools to really challenge the way you think, and then it helps you reframe into a more healthier thought. So I call it my clients who struggle more with negative thoughts Maybe there's high depression or anxiety is a little higher than we do. Cognitive behavioral therapy work Okay. So that's two things so far. Or the simple version is just jumping to positive affirmations or counters. If that's difficult, the more complex step would be to do some cognitive behavioral work step would be to do some cognitive behavioral work.

Gretta:

Okay, so the cognitive behavioral therapy course that you offer sounds really helpful and interesting, because I think it's good for any listener to do a deep dive into this topic. If they're really struggling with this, I know that that could help them learn a lot of personal skills and tools that will transform their relationships, so I love that idea.

Karen Robinson:

Perfect, and I can also give you the link for listeners. If anyone's interested in that, I'm happy to help with that. So another tip is work on finding your community of people that get you accept you. And when we talk about communities, I think this too is a deep dive on where to find your people. So one idea is, if you're a person of faith or any kind of spiritual connection, is finding that source. So it might be I call it church shopping, or it could be temple shopping, moth shopping, like. Whatever your religious background is, um. Or if you're not religious, is there another like are you, do you like stoic? You know readings about stoicism. There's people who really love that and the reading is actually really well done. I find it quite inspiring.

Karen Robinson:

So, finding like-minded people. It could be spiritual, it could be sports If you love sports, like are there any rec teams that you could get involved in? I am also an avid reader. I love books. I probably go through three a week. So book clubs can be placed with like-minded people. When you find like-minded people, it's just easier to engage and make connections. Especially if we're a little shy or have been bamdoozled before from toxic relationships, it can help us practice being more confident. Again, concept of meetups because you can safely interact with people based on interest in groups, so it's less intimidating. It feels safer too, especially if you move to a new area, but from there it's an opportunity to make closer relationships as well through that.

Karen Robinson:

So that's another tip I really like

Gretta:

Listeners may know, because I've talked about it in other podcast episodes that I love meetups too and it's one of my favorite places to make new friends. And I have a follow-up question on that, because I feel like some of my listeners may be hopeful and optimistic and even excited to go to a meetup group or a sports rec club or something like that, or a book club, but they might still be genuinely terrified of getting too friendly and too emotionally involved with people because unfriendly and too emotionally involved with people, because and I'm going to do a quote from my um, one of my online communities because people can be nice and charming and sweet and adore you today and then tomorrow they may never speak to you again. So I'm just wondering what, how, what you would say to somebody who's feeling that way.

Karen Robinson:

I really love that question. I think one of the best mindset tips around this is you don't want to be in relationship with someone who's fake or doesn't have your best interests at heart. So the minute someone does that to you and I know this is a challenging thing, I'm not saying this is easy. I think it's important to work so you're at the place where you can say, oh, thank goodness, because that person is not meant to be in my life. Now I know. So now I can move on and find my people that are going to be healthy. So, hopefully, if you're meeting someone that's going to do that, they do it really quickly.

Karen Robinson:

And then practicing and I tell people too, with this with dating, like finding out on the third date that someone is mean or toxic is way better than the 50th date, right? And of course, the person on the third date when they thought this, like they're excited, like, oh, things are going so well, they're hopeful. You know it can be devastating to learn something hard. You know about this person or they're rejecting in some way. But if we practice the mindset of, oh, I have gratitude to learn this now, because now I can move on to find my healthy people to be in relationship with find my healthy people to be in relationship with.

Gretta:

When somebody thinks, okay, this person seems really nice. I've been going to meetups for a while now. I've seen them every week. They seem like a genuine nice person, but I'm afraid, I'm afraid, I'm scared to take this friendship to the next level and maybe hang out with them outside of this group or, you know, go go out to dinner with them, do something else, because I'm afraid of being ghosted. What would you say to that person?

Karen Robinson:

Yeah, For that person. I would suggest thinking about all the steps involved. Let's say there's four steps and I'm just making that number off at the top of my head and just slowly do the baby steps so you're working in that direction. So, for an example could be just something as simple as you know, asking that person for their phone number. So like, oh, you know, it's okay if I text you once in a while, you know, to talk about acts like whatever the mutual activity is. You know, that could be like step A and again, this may not even be in the right order. Like, I really feel like I need to know the person in order to help them with the steps in the order, because everybody's kind of on a different journey.

Karen Robinson:

But another tip would be to be honest with that person and just say, hey, I want to share with you and this is me being vulnerable. You know I've had a recent rejection from someone, so it's made me a little shy and hesitant. You know, do you have any thoughts about that? Like, would you be interested in us connecting and going out to lunch and just gauging that? You know, taking those little baby steps I think can be helpful Because then, if the person is, they have an opportunity to say I don't think we're a good fit, you know, or however they say it, and then it's good to you know. It's good to know because now you can move on to building those healthy relationships with someone else, someone else you know.

Karen Robinson:

And another step is you know, just let's say that you really want to go on a camping excursion with this person, but you're doing these baby steps, you know so. Then, of course, another step would be going out for coffee or tea. So I hope that concept of baby steps is helpful. And again, if you have a therapist, it would be really great to work with them on like a plan or someone that you trust with the plan.

Gretta:

That is great advice and something that is important to remember. When you're just meeting people, you just take it one day at a time. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp, so being ghosted can be extremely upsetting and overwhelming like a punch to the gut. It can bring out past emotional wounds and intense feelings, and what really helps is talking about these issues with a therapist. Regardless of whether you have clinical mental health issues like depression or anxiety, or if you're just a human who lives in this world and is going through a hard time, therapy can give you tools to approach your life in a very different way, and that's why I'm excited to tell you about today's sponsor, betterhelp.

Gretta:

Betterhelp's mission is to make therapy more affordable and more accessible, and this is an important mission because finding a therapist can be really hard, especially when you're limited to the options in your area. Betterhelp is a platform that makes finding a therapist easier because it's online, it's remote and by filling out a few questions, betterhelp can match you to a professional therapist in as little as a few days. It's easy to sign up and get matched with a therapist. There's a link in my show notes. It's betterhelpcom slash copingwithghosting. Clicking that link helps support my podcast. But it also gets you 10% off your first month of better help so you can connect with a therapist and see if it helps you, and because finding a therapist is a little like dating if you don't really fit with that therapist which is a common thing with therapy you can easily switch to a new therapist at no additional cost, without stressing about insurance, who's in your network or anything like that.

Gretta:

So therapy helped me overcome many challenges after being ghosted. It's truly an act of self-care and healing. So if you're struggling, consider online therapy with BetterHelp. Click the link in the show notes or visit betterhelpcom. Slash copingwithghosting. That's betterhelp H-E-L-P dot com. Slash copingwithghosting. Thank you again, betterhelp, for supporting my podcast. So now let's go back to the other things you were going to share about how to feel safe in relationships.

Karen Robinson:

Yeah, now this. I don't know if this tip will necessarily help with safety. I think that's an interesting word that I want to come back to. But in terms of having those flags in relationships when you're trying to figure out, let's take dating, for example and I think this could work for friendships too, but dating is a little bit easier to describe this with.

Karen Robinson:

When I was coming after a divorce with someone that was toxic, one of the things I stumbled across in my work is I was doing some couples counseling at the time. I don't I don't like the name of this book at all, but it was really helpful. It's called the Idiot's Guide to Healthy Relationships. Okay, terrible name, but I was feeling like an idiot because here I was a couples therapist struggling myself within relationships. It's like hello, didn't you study this? Like what's going on here? Well, first of all, it takes two people to make a healthy relationship right. You can't control the other person and, second of all, we as individuals always have work to do to be as healthy as possible ourselves. So I was working on my part after that relationship failed, and so I studied that book and then I started to use it in my client sessions and what I really found impactful is this concept of flags the red flags, yellow flags and green flags Okay, and so I use this process when I started to date again and it was incredibly helpful.

Karen Robinson:

So let's start with the red flags. The red flags are no-goes. You do not want to be in relationship with people the red flags the red flags are no-goes. You do not want to be in relationship with people with red flags. And for me because I had a lot of breathing problems is I will not date a smoker. Cigarettes are off the table or smoking anything really. Now that's I didn't think of it at the the time, but that probably would be true for friends too as well friends to go away with, especially in hotel rooms or camping or something. I think I do have a couple friends now that smoke, but when we are doing activities together they're not smoking, like we go to the movies, or one of my friends actually is in my Bible study group. I know she smokes. So I don't judge people for smoking. I just know that like talk about, like dating, to kiss someone they can't be a smoker. If you've got breathing problems, that's. That's a no go. So red flag was an example. Is smoking.

Karen Robinson:

Now, when I was dating, I was a single mother because I had a child in my. Now, when I was dating, I was a single mother because I had a child in my marriage. So a yellow flag for me was children the other person having children Like I could go either way. Now, when I say I could go either way, meaning if they had maybe one or two, but I actually went on a date with someone who had something like seven children and so that, so the number of children mattered. I did not want to be an instant mother of you know, I had two on my own at that point, cause I had one in the marriage, and then I adopted a child as a single mom. So I was like, taking on all those other children, that's a no go for me. That's just that's not going to all those other children. That's a no-go for me, that's just, that's not going to be healthy for me. That's a lot of responsibilities.

Karen Robinson:

And then the green flags are what you must have in a relationship and I would say this goes closely with your value system, right, and so if you're a bleeding heart liberal with social justice causes and just have a passion for that, you're probably gonna not do so well, especially in close, intimate relationships with someone who's extremely conservative. Okay, I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but for some people that is a red flag. Other people can do it. You know, I have tried to date people outside of my political affiliation and it's no go for me because my values are tied up in my voting practices, right. So those are just some kind of examples. So, knowing what your flags are, what your green flags are, what your values are, knowing what are no-goes for you.

Karen Robinson:

I had a client once that went away with a friend and they stayed in a resort. They were in a hotel room. That friend had brought a lot of drugs illegal drugs with her and my client had a security clearance, a high level security clearance. So, as you can imagine, that put her in an immediate state of high anxiety to be rooming with someone with all these drugs. And then the friend started partaking and became aggressive. Okay, so we talked. When she came back, she now has this book as well. Okay, so next time you choose to go away with a friend, having some pre-calls, pre-conversations on what's not, okay. Any questions about the flags?

Gretta:

I love the flags and I have a whole episode it's all about red flags and ghosting, so I completely agree. I believe that we need to know the red flags. I'd like to share some questions from the listening community and the Facebook community in particular. I have been ghosted in the past and now I fear that my partner will leave me. What are reasonable things to ask a partner to help me feel more safe in my relationship? I tend to need a lot of reassurance.

Karen Robinson:

Yeah, really great question. Tend to need a lot of reassurance. Yeah, really great question. So, first of all, you want to be with a partner that isn't stingy with reassurance. They should hand it to you on a plate, okay, but you have to verbalize that you're feeling insecure. If that's what your experience is right now, you, you know. So it could be something like look, I know that this isn't necessarily healthy, but right now I'm struggling with insecurity. Are you going to be okay with giving me reassurance and then stating directly what you need to make that happen? It could be for, for example, now I recommend this more if the relationship is at a deeper level, where there's a commitment, because otherwise it's too intrusive, I think.

Karen Robinson:

So, let's say, you've been dating for a long time and it looks more serious. I think it's okay to say you know. One of the things that would help me feel better is if we had joint or mutual access to each other's email, phone texting. I would just feel better to be able to see in your phone that you're not in relationship with other women able to see in your phone that you're not in relationship with other women. That would help reassure me With someone with nothing to hide. That's going to be. That's a no brainer. Yeah, like I was sure you know, I hope that helps you feel better Now.

Karen Robinson:

If someone you're dating is too private, that could just be their value, or it could be that they're hiding something, but either way, they're not a match for you right now. If you're feeling insecure and you need that reassurance, you know. So it really is about being in relationship with people that value you where you're at and you valuing where they're at. So if privacy if you're not valuing somebody else's privacy because your need for reassurance, being able to say that and getting on the same page with that so that's one thing I would recommend.

Gretta:

How often is it okay to ask a partner for reassurance? Is there such thing as too much?

Karen Robinson:

I think it can feel that way in the beginning. I think if the partner is super willing to do it and is open to it, a thousand percent of the time that need will go away. Actually, I'm very sure it will go away. The problem is, if you're in a relationship with someone toxic, it'll just get worse. Thus, toxic relationships are not what you want. Thus help. Toxic relationships are not what you want, right.

Gretta:

And so what are some signs in a partner that aren't verbal that would could reassure you that you're in a trustworthy, secure relationship.

Gretta:

What are some signs to look for?

Karen Robinson:

I think someone that will, you know, leave their phone around like they're not hiding it. Someone that doesn't close their computer when you walk in the room like it's open and if you're walking by you can see kind of thing. Now, of course, there's exceptions, like I'm a therapist. If my husband comes into the room, he knows I have to. If I'm writing a client note, he knows. But he also knows he can trust me at this point. Right, he doesn't have any need to be reassured that I'm not doing something I'm not supposed to.

Karen Robinson:

Yeah, so I think just someone that's very open with you, you know, and willing to be open with you. So, for example, if your partner says I'm going out with my friends on this night, if you say something like okay, well, could could you call and check in with me and reassure me, that should be a no-brainer like oh sure, no problem. If someone really cares about you and they're healthy, they're going to want to do those things. That's what love is. So if someone doesn't want to reassure you or do little things to help you feel more secure, they're not someone I would want to be in a relationship with and I know that, personally and professionally, at this point I agree.

Gretta:

I have another question from the listening community. I've suffered PTSD around being ghosted. Now I have a hard time trusting people, even if they seem great. How do I know? The difference between anxiety and my gut feelings Is my anxiety, intuition or trauma.

Karen Robinson:

This question is way more complex, right? Sometimes I don't think we can tell because it's so enmeshed with each other, and I think that's okay. A tip I have on this would be decreasing the anxiety as a general goal. So an example would be practicing meditation to a high degree. So if you met people that meditate religiously and consistently, they aren't anxious at all. That's research proven. And I know that we can't be a monk and go move into the mountains super easy, Like if you have a career and a family and all that. But you can do pieces of that and research shows even a couple minutes a day can make a difference. But of course you want to build that skill up. Now I have people who are anxious tell me oh, I can't do this, I can't sit still. The more anxious you are, the more you need to do this, the more practice. It's okay to start out with two minutes and go to three minutes, you know, and build yourself up. So that would take care of the anxiety over time. Now if you have a family history of anxiety or if you feel like it's chemically related, then you know, of course you may benefit from what's called an antidepressant. An antidepressant helps with both anxiety and depression and is not addictive.

Karen Robinson:

Meds that are specific for anxiety, those are called benzos and those are addictive and I do not recommend those, no matter how anxious you are. I think there could be a couple exceptions, like for breakthrough panic, if you're completely debilitated by anxiety, but that would be under a close care under your physician. But overall, benzos are not healthy for the long term. They cause dependency issues. So meditation I recommend meditation all day long, every day, and I'm not so great about practicing what I preach, but I do know, based on when I am consistent and based on research, it's one of the best ways to work on bringing down your anxiety and also increasing your confidence. When you're more centered, you're going to be more confident in the decisions that you're making and trusting your intuition. So I hope I answered it. I know it's not like do A and everything's going to be okay. It's not one of those types of questions or answers.

Gretta:

I love meditation so much and I just got a habit tracker which I have on my wall and I have meditation on it and it's supposed to be one of my daily practices. The app I would recommend for meditation is called insight timer and it's free, and so I'll put a link to it in the show notes, and there's several different apps online that have timers and guided meditations. You can even go to YouTube to find any type of meditation that you like, and I highly recommend it. It's great. I have another question. There's a question that says I was ghosted by a person who told me I'd never ghost you, and now I have trouble believing people's words, and I'm currently in a relationship with a great person and they constantly reassure me that things are fine, but how can I manage my anxiety here it comes up again around being abandoned.

Karen Robinson:

I'm tempted to leave the relationship before they leave me well, leaving is always an option, but I think you're going to find yourself constantly leaving, and that's kind of the opposite of what your goal is, if your goal is to be in a healthy relationship. I'd like to put this tidbit out too, and I don't know if it's necessarily reassuring, but I think it's factual and so it can help with mind shift, mind shifting. And this is the thing about relationships. There are just no guarantees. Nobody can reassure you and mean it forever. Nobody can marry you Like marriage is supposed to be this commitment forever and ever, can marry you Like marriage is supposed to be this commitment forever and ever. And how do you explain divorce if people mean what they say on their wedding day? That's the best way I can think of to say it that way.

Karen Robinson:

So I talk to people about when you have one foot in and one foot out of a relationship, like you're kind of on guard, waiting for them to leave or waiting for them to mess up or waiting for yourself to sabotage it or leave. It just doesn't work. You can't have one foot in, one foot out and expect it to work, because there's no guarantees in relationships. People could wake up and leave. We could wake up and leave. That's free will. Everybody has that choice. So since there's no guarantees and that you could get hurt, why not just be in a relationship with two feet in? We think being on guard will protect our heart and help us feel less pain. But there is no evidence. You know, pain is pain. You have a half a foot in. It just doesn't work. If it worked, I would say, do that, but it really doesn't work. So two feet in. There are no guarantees of the relationships. Take people at their word until they give you evidence of not being able to do so any longer.

Gretta:

Thank you for sharing your wisdom around that. I think that's going to help a lot of people. I want to circle back to the original question. I want to circle back to the original question. Are there any other ways that listeners can feel safe in relationships? We've discussed a lot. I'm just wondering if you have any other advice around this.

Karen Robinson:

Well, some of this advice, I think, is probably just Well. Some of this advice, I think-defense courses, Because when we do that physically it helps with feeling emotionally safe as well, because it's just confidence. So I think self-defense, I think working on your confidence. We talked about affirmations earlier but mantras is something similar but they're sometimes kind of shorter and more concise. So it's doing the Wonder Woman pose, where your hands are on your hips, your chest is out, your head is looking up.

Karen Robinson:

If you're voluptuous, you know, putting that out there, looking as confident as possible, like practicing that pose can help us with our safety. It could be having like a little alarm on your key ring. There's all kinds of things to help with safety and you know, I know the person who wrote that probably is meaning emotional safety. But because our physical bodies bear so much of the anxiety when we don't feel emotionally safe, working on those areas will help with that. So it's all interconnected Because, remember, our brains and our bodies are in one vessel, so what helps with one thing can help with another. If you work on your mental mindset, you're going to be physically healthy.

Karen Robinson:

If you work on your physical health, you're going to be physically healthy. If you work on your physical health, you're going to be mentally healthy.

Gretta:

Those are all great points, and if you're starting to date somebody, or if you're starting to hang out with a friend or a potential friend that you met individually at a meetup group and now you're doing something one-on-one, always make sure that you're going to meet them, you know, in the beginning, in a safe space. So a public space like a coffee shop during the daytime that's well lit, so that you feel like you know there's other people around. If something happens, they'll see it. You're not going to be alone with them in their bedroom. So that's another way to feel safe. Is there anything else you'd like to share about ghosting or being ghosted in general?

Karen Robinson:

I want to repeat the point about not giving up on safe relationships or healthy relationships. I like the idea, too, of having a person where you share your location with on your phone. My daughters and I do that for each other and I love that. My daughter, who's in college she's almost 21. I love that. She trusts me enough for her location to be on and because she trusts me and I trust her, I don't even actually I've never even looked at it as my other daughter that will look at it who's 14. She tracks down her sister like oh well, we won't call her right, now's working, but I think it's just so reassuring for family too, if for young women, but it can be any.

Karen Robinson:

Any age at age doesn't make you more safe. It probably makes you have this false idea like you're too wise for something to happen. But anyway, the point is sharing your location I think can be helpful, right, yeah, even Uber rides. I share it when I'm in my Uber. They have that option on on there where you can share with somebody else so they can track your route. I love that. I love those little safety features.

Gretta:

That's great and for anybody who's dating, whenever I'm coaching, I recommend that they screenshot the image of the person they're going on the date with and share it with somebody they trust, who they know can be there for them, and have say okay, I'm going on a date at this time and this is the person I'm going on a date at this time and this is the person I'm going with and I'm going to text you by 10 PM tonight. If not, give me a call and have a plan in place for if I don't reach out to you. Yeah.

Karen Robinson:

Another idea is to do a background check. It may not be feasible for the first date per se, but if if it's getting to the point where you're going to allow them to pick you up and go somewhere, you may want to pay to have a background check done. Obviously, it won't make things a hundred. I mean there's criminals who don't have a background check right, but at least you'll know if they already have a record of stalking or domestic violence. You will find out that way. So I've done that quite a bit when I was dating too is just go ahead and pay, and it really helped me feel safe when I was dating. Yeah, thank you. So healthrivedreamcom and I have a free gift on the homepage of the website. It's called the Hope Tool, so people who want to stay in touch or connected with my work can see the link for that. It's healthrivedreamcom. Forward slash, get hyphen hope, and I will also provide Gretta with the CBT course link, just in case you have a listener that's interested in that.

Gretta:

Thank, you and I will put all that information in the show notes. I really appreciate your coming on the show today.

Karen Robinson:

Thank you very much for having me.

Gretta:

And listeners. If you haven't already, I invite you to check out my Take your Power Back workshop, which you can find over at copingwithghostingcom, this interactive video download. It's under an hour and it's going to help you change your story, focus on yourself and feel better again. So go check it out. Rebuild your confidence today. Finally, be sure to remember when you're ghosted. You have more time to connect with yourself and people who have stellar communication skills. You deserve the best.