Am I Aromantic or just "traumatized"?
I've considered myself aromantic for a year now, but I still cant stop thinking if I'm aromantic or a allo who's just had bad romantic experience.
My bio parents didn't have the healthiest marriages, every 6 months a big fight would always happen, they would yell at each other, me and my siblings would hide in our rooms till it was over, then they would "get over it" and forgive each other and then rinse and repeat.
I saw that when I was younger and thought that what was a romantic relationship was and I promised to myself that I would never get into a relationship. It wasn't till they got divorced when I was a 14 that I learned that wasn't really a good example of a relationship.
Since then, I've read books and real-life examples of what a "good and healthy" relationship is like, and it sounds wonderful and lovely, I enjoy romantic media now, I imagine myself with romantic encounters with men and woman, and I engage in "shipping culture". However, if someone asks me out, I get really nervous, a little nauseous, and it feels like romance is the most revolting thing in the world, like if I sat down and seriously think about starting a relationship, I just can't do it, because all of those fantasies about romantic encounters are just that, fantasies.
I'm not sure if this is some deep seeded psychological reaction because of my parents, but that feel a bit silly to me, there are people whose parents' marriage was worse than man and they can still feel romantic attraction.
What's your opinion?
Posted Jun 29, 2026, 11:32 PM UTC