tbh sexual desires ARE a good reason to go get hurt by a relationship because you are... technically behind your age group for this kinda thing and you're only going to ruminate and overthink the longer you put this off. This is exactly why some men and women in particular will just go lose their virginity to somebody "good enough" in HS or college because YEA it is scary, but we also want some practice.

you kinda just have to bite the bullet on this because you have to build your redflag radar yourself, directly, making decisions for yourself. and not just reading about everyone else going through it.

A lot of us have gotten hurt from dating but there's a lot of good that comes out of it too like learning about ourselves, knowing what to work on for shortcomings, learning how to communicate, and being less afraid of people. And finding a genuine indescribable joy in companionship and maybe even real romance. It's the stuff that makes a life more interesting, and the reward is finding people who care about you.

if you need therapy then you should get it, but they're still going to tell you the same thing. to go try, and not to be afraid of being hurt.

Dumb relationships that go nowhere are part of the process. It's literally all practice and lessons because being intimate with others is actually a set of social skills anyway. It has to be built slowly over time.