Web Exclusives Comment Ted Mosby Syndrome I've always thought university was the ideal backdrop for a love story - a wry smile across a lecture hall or reaching for the same book in the library

Archive This article is from our archive and might not display correctly. This article is from our archive and might not display correctly. Download PDF

I think I might be coming down with something, not just because I have awesome hair or because I wear unbuttoned shirts over t-shirts. The growing dissatisfaction with being single, twice weekly epiphanies, and an irritating need to tell people about it, all point towards one thing - a severe case of Ted Mosby Syndrome.



It's probably strange that someone my age is even thinking about this, but to be honest, well into my third year now, I've had my fill of the one night zeitgeist, and feel the need for a lifestyle change.



So what is Ted Mosby Syndrome? Coincident with the release of 'How I met your Mother' in 2005, the outbreak of TMS affected a large number of single men with a burning desire to find The One. "That doesn't sound too bad," I hear you say. Yeah, alone, it doesn't. Wanting to find the one isn't a bad thing at all. It's the soppy, premature, head-over-heels-and-land-on-your-face that's the kicker part of Ted Mosby Syndrome. I asked a girl at Rave D last month, mid-snog, if she'd like to go to dinner with me.



Some people view Ted Mosby Syndrome as the signature indication of desperation. And in many ways, they're not wrong; but when you look at these people, I want you to consider why they want someone special in their life.



Ladies and gents, a man does not rely on a woman for contentment alone. When you have Ted Mosby Syndrome, you want to love because you want to give; not because they have a heart-warming smile, a soft melodic voice and girl-next-door innocence about them, not because they're the ideal height or because you can't help but smile every time someone says their name. But to just give is enough, because that is your very nature. All the other stuff is just a bonus.



Of course there are a number of ways to deal with Ted Mosby Syndrome. Moon-lighting as a club-night Casanova is one option, with the added advantage that it keeps up the brave face that you don't want a relationship anyway. Asking out every girl you meet is another, even just to convince yourself you are taking steps in the right direction, while video games offer the abstinent alternative. But you don't need me to tell you that there's only one real cure.



Like chicken pox, TMS is something we're all likely to contract at one point, but to my mind it's best to get it out of the way young, if only to avoid going through it well into your thirties.



Indeed, I've always thought university was the ideal backdrop for a love story - a wry smile across a lecture hall or reaching for the same book in the library, you never know what could be right around the corner.



While I might not be able to cure Ted Mosby Syndrome myself, I can offer two theories on how to speed up the process. TMS carriers will always swear all the good ones are taken, but my advice is to look again, at people you usually pass over. And finally, try to avoid the foremost symptom: to unnecessarily over think things; to search for an instant spark just like in the movies. Forget romance for a second and use the "friend filter." Who knows what could develop over time?