I know the title isn't the best, and it probably makes me seem shallow - I suppose I just wanted to grab people's attention, as well as just getting the basics of it out there.

But with dating, I feel like I'm constantly reexperiencing the same two things, either: 1. I meet someone and go on a date or two with them, but it doesn't really work out for whatever reason and then I or they break it off. That's fine, that's all part of how it is. What hurts, is 2. I go on a date with someone and it's great, we meet again and again, we text a lot, have great sex and so on. But then suddenly it's as if they retreat without ever giving a clear reason - slowly the communication gets less and less intense, until suddenly they say they "aren't ready for a relationship" or that they just don't see us together.

In a way, I can't be mad. And I'm not, I'm just deeply frustrated about having the repeat again and again. I haven't ever had a real long-term relationship ever, as it just turns into this - and when I look around, it seems a lot of people my age (23M) are in the same boat. It's depressing and makes me feel incredibly undesireable, unlovable and just plain lonely.

I really try to think about what to do differently. The last couple of times, I have asked if it has something to do with me, and I have only ever gotten over-the-top polite "no, it's just because I'm not ready" or something similar. The truly horrible part is not so much that it happens frequently, but that I never really can find out why.

As soon as today, I had this happen, where a girl I had been seeing for months broke up. We had been talking pretty much every day, where she initiated just as much as me, we made plans for fun future dates and were relatively close emotionally. I really had high hopes, even felt like I was falling in love a little - and then the communication from her side waned, and when I asked her about it, she suddenly wasn't ready for a relationship (no further reason given).

Is anyone in the same boat? Am I insane? Am I really missing something obvious about myself that I should change? Am I unlucky?

Sorry for the long, somewhat rambling post. And I'm sure I haven't worded myself very well, or in a way that invokes sympathy. But I'm tired, feeling lonely and depressed, so that's how it is, I guess. Maybe that way of presenting myself will reveal one of the reasons.