This post was originally published on Audible.com.
Ah, courtship. Equal parts excitement and angst, dating can quickly turn toxic with the dreaded appearance of red flags, from familiar misbehaviors like rudeness and cheating to contemporary buzzwords like gaslighting, ghosting (ceasing all communications without giving a reason), love bombing (showering a partner with too much affection early on), and benching (keeping potential partners on the back burner while focusing on higher priority relationships in the meantime). These true stories of dating nightmares present worst-case scenarios—but also valuable lessons from the front lines of modern dating.