Dating Anxiety

Dear Suze, I love this dating after divorce stage of my life but I'm so anxious before a date. Any tips?

Dear Tips, Anxiety is the old part of our brain's way of alerting danger, like dinosaurs lurking ahead. In dating, the anxiety you feel is not that you'll actually die, but rather that you'll want to die of embarrassment, inability to  perform, being rejected... So rehearse before your rendezvous. Play dress-up in front of your mirror (including underware); primp with modest make-up; think of personal stories or jokes others have liked about your past; ask interesting questions about your date's life. Everyone has a story that secretly they want to tell. Be a good listener and draw them out. You can't control the outcome of your time together, but you can control whether you enjoy and act like your own fun self. -SQ