Any one else been single a long time?

[happyandsingle]

Just realised I've been single over seven years now pretty much all of my 30s apart from one brief relationship.
Since my daughter was born basically I've bought her up from birth with no one to share those times with which makes me pretty sad sometimes.
Has anyone else been single a long time and how do you come to terms with it?
I'm 36 now and I want to learn to stop panicking about my long term single status. I have dabbled with Internet dating but am not over confident so not sure that's the way to go.
Not really sure what response I'm expecting but it would be nice to hear from others who have been single a long time as I'm beginning to feel like the only one out there.
Might add that I don't get a lot of alone time so it's hard to get out and meet someone plus never have a lot of spare cash as get no financial help from dd dad. Pl ignore my username as I don't feel like I am happy being single any more lol.

"having constantly to be the adult in charge - always"

Except that an often repeated gripe on here, and IRL, is that a partner isn't pulling their weight and helping make decisions. I agree that in a good relationship, some of that sense of always being the adult in charge is shared, but I also think that some people rush into relationships with someone who in effect ends up like another child to them, at least where taking responsibilities is concerned.

This thread has made me feel really glad to be gay (ish).

Not that finding a female partner is proving any easier. Then again i've only been single 18months and I haven't exactly been looking.

This is the first time I have ever been truly single and it is liberating. If only I'd known before

I'm not waving pom-poms for choosing to be single, precisely, but very much for this discovery that single is not the worse choice between "inadequate partner" and "no partner"! It has a lot of upsides

i was single for 15 years, worked hard, travelled etc now I'm in a realtionshi and I hate

Anyone Feel Like Giving up on people altogether

iam 40 nearly 41 and ive been single for over 10 years and have no kids all ive ever wanted was to be a dad a family how do u get over something like that knowing u may never going to have a family of my own

I have been single more or less for going on 10 years, brought up 2 children on my own, who have now left home. So I really am alone.
90% I am okay with that, then I have rare bouts of wishing I mattered to someone and would give anything for a hug.
I have done the OLD thing and feel like stale bread, I cringe at the men who are supposedly my age and see the mess they are in.
I have had a couple of shortish relationships, which went nowhere since I never intended on moving someone in to the fmh.
In my head I would quite like a relationship, but on my terms. Someone to go for the odd meal and days out with and a bit of intimacy.
The reality is when it comes down to it I cannot summon the energy to make the effort. I canot deal with someone messaging me and actually having to respond.
I met someone online....too lazy to actually search myself. We spoke on the phone at length and whilst he was easy to talk to, kept me talking for almost an hour. Then rang me every night for 4 nights, it was way too much for me to cope with. Luckily for me he must have got bored and disappeared.
I have no desire to share my life with someone again, let alone the finances.
I agree with the ' boredom ' of having to be the adult left to deal with everything, it is so tiresome. However as someone said in a relationship sometimes it is left all down to one person.

fiddlybulb I think one of the glorious things about being long-term single is that you won't tolerate sub-par nonsense from men for very long

I so agree with this. I've been pretty much single for over a decade and it would have to be someone amazing to make me want to date at the moment. There was a guy last year who I had a bit of a flirtation with but decided he had too many 'issues' to be make it worth the effort. He then started dating someone I know, she split up with him after a few months because of the 'issues' but then got back with him because she was lonely. His issues are still there, I'm really not sure why she is bothering, but i'm also really happy that I am secure enough in my singledom not to get involved.