Dear Ron:

A summary of what you shared: you are a 38 year old man, divorced, father of an eight year old, living in a small town where your son lives, in a one person rented apartment. You suffer from bipolar type 2, ADHD; anxiety and depression. You are a devoted father to your son, and you are also lonely, wishing to have a girlfriend yet pessimistic because of the limited opportunities of the small, rural and conservative town you live in and your low income.

The title of your thread is: “let go or stay open”- you mean, letting go vs staying open to the desire and plan to have a new girlfriend in our life, correct?

If that is the question, I would stay open, if I was you. There are plenty of women- and so, there may be a few in a small town as well, who are willing to date a man with a low income, women who respect a man for reasons other than his income, such as honesty, intelligence, values. And you only need one girlfriend, or one good friend, so maybe there is one of each in your very small, rural, conservative town.

anita