u/New-Worker-4595

I’m a graduate student (25M) and I developed feelings for a woman in my program. We shared the same cultural background and got along well socially at first, so I became emotionally invested pretty quickly.
Looking back, I think my biggest issue was that I expected her to match my level of interest too early. Instead of building a normal connection, I started flirting right away over text and became inconsistent/anxious when I wasn’t sure where I stood with her. Whenever I felt uncertainty or distance, I reacted by trying harder instead of stepping back.
There were a couple of periods where we drifted apart and then naturally reconnected again later. At one point, mutual friends even encouraged us to reconnect because they thought we both had misunderstandings and awkwardness getting in the way. But instead of handling that calmly, I became even more anxious and emotionally reactive.
The worst mistake I made was showing up to a meeting where she was present even though I wasn’t really supposed to be there. I wanted to check on her after hearing from mutual friends that she wasn’t doing well, but in hindsight I crossed boundaries. I also pushed conversation when she was visibly uncomfortable. She later texted me saying my behavior made her uncomfortable and that she didn’t want further contact.
Since then, I’ve respected her request and stopped reaching out, but I’ve been struggling with a lot of guilt, shame, and overthinking. I keep replaying everything and wondering how I let my anxiety and emotional urgency turn into behavior that made someone uncomfortable.
I’m not looking for validation or ways to reconnect with her. I know the situation is over.

I want to know the healthiest way to handle things from here on, considering we are still in the same academic environment and may occasionally see each other at events or meetings
Right now I’ve mostly been avoiding situations where she might be present because I don’t want to make her uncomfortable again, but I also don’t know if long-term avoidance is healthy either. I’d appreciate honest perspectives, especially from people who have dealt with anxiety, over-attachment, or boundary issues and learned to improve.

Hi, 25M here, I am a graduate student and I was constantly having anxiety over arranged marriage and feeling difficult to handle it. My parents saw a girl last year (I was 24 yo) and tried their best to manipulate me into this marriage. I love my parents and I understand they mean all well but I’m in no position for marriage at this point in my life at least and their manipulation is so abrupt that it made my life miserable. I somehow managed to dodge that situation. The worst thing was they were gathering family members together into their action and try to use numbers to manipulate me. I was traumatized so bad I decided not to go home last year.
My father kept telling that he did so much for me and I’m not even willing to marry the girl he looked for me and make me feel guilt. But I stood firm in my decision that I need to make progress in life and be in a better position first.
Now it’s been a year since this happened I can’t say the same thing and they’re asking me to comeback home. During this period my anxiety came down a bit but now that I’m thinking to go back home, my anxiety spikes again overthinking how much pressure I’d have to endure. I’m trying therapy but it helps only for some time and I get my anxiety back. Have anyone been in this situation before and how did you handle this?