In the past seven years that I’ve been writing this blog I’ve talked at length about dating, including touching on the infamous and rarely discussed amongst couples: “Girl Brain.”

Girl Brain is the ever-present reason why girls act the way they do around boys.

It’s been so long since I’ve been in a “real relationship” that I associated Girl Brain only to the beginnings of a relationship aka the dating stage. Yet, here I sit 6 1/2 months into a relationship – the second longest I’ve ever dated someone IN MY LIFE (feel free to applaud now) – and I’m here to tell you that Girl Brain does exist while in a relationship, too.

I was hoping that after feeling comfortable dating someone for a while, the little Girl Brain switch that automatically turns on the second you like a guy would flip to the “off” position. That once you were feeling like, “Oh dang, this boy likes me. I have nothing to worry about,” you could forget about constant phone checking and irrational thoughts about where he is right this second. Alas, I am still plagued with these symptoms of Girl Brain. I detest that I’m symptomatic, but I fear there may not be a cure.

When I see a receipt at his house for 2 people’s worth of food at our favorite restaurant, I want to first assume that he went with his bestie. When I see the long black hair imbedded on the couch blanket, I want to first assume that it’s from the dog walker or that it’s been there for 6 3/4 months. When he goes out for a work dinner alone with a female, I want to first assume that it is in fact for a work dinner. But I don’t.

I have absolutely positively no concrete evidence to think anything other than the rational thought. So, why does Girl Brain kick in when I see the receipt and the hair, putting words in my brain and, consequently, my mouth?

Grain Brain is insidious. It’s black and mucks up my rational train of thought. It makes me feel out of control. And yet, it’s there and while I can’t control it, I am learning to deal with it…one dinner with a friend, one blog post, and one glass of wine at a time.