【Tayuan】

Everyone gets the odd butterfly or Tayuantwo before a hot date. But sometimes, those pre-date nerves can feel really debilitating — particularly if you're living with anxiety.

Well, here's some news you can use: Dating app Hinge has teamed up with Headspace to bring you pre-date meditations. From Oct. 6, daters can access Hinge and Headspace's pre-date guided mediations on hinge.co/headspace at no cost. The meditations last around five to six minutes and they tackle a number of emotions you might be feeling before a date, from self-doubt to negative self-talk.

The meditations are narrated by Eve Lewis, Headspace's director of meditation. And the first one begins by underlining how natural it is to feel nervous or stressed about going on a date. "We tend to rush ahead into the future, sometimes creating a full-blown story of what could or might happen," says Lewis in the meditation.

As many daters can attest, dating in 2020 is pretty stressful. Many of us have had to content with temporary bans on casual sex, while others have experienced harassment from other daters to break quarantine for a booty call. Then there's the whole issue of going on a date with someone who's less vigilant than you regarding COVID-19 and personal safety. According to Hinge data, more than three in four Hinge users around the world have felt nervous or anxious prior to a date. And because of the pandemic, one in four users feel even more anxious now.

Ahead of World Mental Health Day on Oct. 10, Hinge is releasing the meditations to help daters nurture their mental wellbeing and self-compassion before going on dates during this stressful year.

The meditations aim to tackle pre-date nerves and people's inner critics.

Justin McLeod, founder and CEO of Hinge, explained the personal significance of mental wellbeing in a statement. "Having personally dealt with addiction and substance abuse, mental well-being is a topic I’m deeply passionate about for not only myself but our Hinge community," he said.

"We want our users to be calm and relaxed when connecting with each other, so it was a no-brainer to partner with Headspace to develop the first-ever meditations for daters," he added.

Go forth and meditate, daters!

Related Video: How to go on a virtual date during the coronavirus pandemic

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