What is Seasonal Dating Disorder - and do YOU suffer from it?

Looking for love in Doncaster this winter? Then you could be suffering from Seasonal Dating Disorder
Do you suffer from Seasonal Dating Disorder?Do you suffer from Seasonal Dating Disorder?
Do you suffer from Seasonal Dating Disorder?

Experts have identified the new trend - where singletons search for someone to spend the cold, winter nights with and then ditch them when the summer months roll around once more - as being on the increase.

We are apparently now in “cuffing season,” where single men and women search for a companion to keep them warm and sexually satisfied during winter.

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However, come summer, the same people are then ready to abandon their adult sleepover buddy for a season of lust, not love.

This pattern has been labelled “Seasonal Dating Disorder” (SDD) and it is particularly common in twenty-something daters,says relationship psychologist Madeleine Mason.

"Singles who display this type of dating pattern are unable to commit," she said.

"They use summer fun and friends as an excuse for this pattern, but in reality it is because they are unable to form lasting romantic bonds.

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"They may have the illusion they can settle down whenever they want to, but they can’t and until they do decide they want a lasting relationship will they realise they are unable to; that’s when I’ll see them in my office."

Lucinda Burton-Thompson, 25, is a self-confessed SDD sufferer.

"As the nights draw in and crunchy leaves litter the streets, for some reason I always end up wanting a boyfriend,” she told The Independent.

“There's something about autumn and winter that makes me want someone with whom to snuggle on the sofa, go ice skating and hold hands on crisp walks.

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“It's great having a boyfriend through the cold months, but by the time spring rolls round I'm nearly always fed up of them, so break things off.

“There's nothing better than being single in summer - long balmy evenings are perfect for casual fun and flings."

So do you suffer from Seasonal Dating Disorder? Here's the symptoms

1. You can’t bear the thought of being alone over Christmas/New Year and put all efforts in the autumn to find a partner.

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2. By Valentine's Day (or anywhere from three months of dating) you start to feel bored or trapped within the relationship and start finding excuses to spend less time with your partner.

3. The idea of being single fills you with relief after some time and you break up or act in ways to make your partner break-up with you.

4. You have done this at least the past three years.

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