Dating and Your Nervous System w/Therapist Irina | The Elusive Dck Podcast (Ep. 5)

In this episode of The Elusive Dick, hosts Marjorie and Barbara welcome their second guest, Irina — a therapist, spiritual healer, and fellow dater navigating the modern dating world alongside them. Together, the women unpack how people often hide behind screens, why plans that get pushed for weeks or months are a major turnoff, and how online dating has become a space for attention-seeking and confidence boosts rather than real connection.   Drawing on Irina’s 25+ years counseling couples, the conversation explores why you might not get a text back, how people prioritize (or avoid) meeting in person, and how humans often seek pleasure to avoid pain — sometimes resulting in selfish dating behavior. With honesty, humor, and compassion, the episode offers insight into dating after 50, emotional availability, and how clarity can shift your dating experience.   This episode delivers both hope and a game plan, asking the essential questions: What do you want? What are you trying to attract? Once that shift happens, new opportunities begin to appear.   Irina Gubenko Email: [email protected] Phone: 914-236-0554 Therapist Profile: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/irina-gubenko-new-york-ny/1677719 IG: @holistic_mind_heart_therapy   The Elusive Dck is a dating podcast, comedy podcast, and relationships podcast offering a fresh perspective on midlife dating, dating apps, and dating younger men. Blending cultural commentary with lived experience, the show proves that dating again doesn’t have to be exhausting—it can be funny, freeing, and unexpectedly revealing.   Please reach out with Dating Questions and Inquiries at: [email protected]   Follow us on Spotify, Apple Music, and everywhere you get your podcasts!     Podcast Episode Disclaimer: The stories shared on this podcast are based on personal experiences. Certain details, names, identifying characteristics, timelines, and circumstances may be changed or condensed for privacy and storytelling purposes. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. This podcast reflects personal opinions and lived experiences. The content of this podcast is intended for entertainment and commentary purposes only. Stories may include composites of real experiences and may be modified to protect the privacy of individuals. No statements are intended as factual claims about any specific person.