The secret to knowing when you’re in love lies in these 50 signs. If you nod along, smiling and sighing at these signs, chances are that you’re hooked.
Love is one of the most glorious feelings a human can experience. It can also be a terrifying, confusing, frustrating, and vulnerable feeling. There are, no doubt, many times in your life where you thought that you were in love, only to find that it was nothing more than a crush.How to know when you’re in love: 50 common signs
If you are wondering if it’s love this time, there is no magic calculation to it. There are, however, signs that it is more than a fleeting crush. Real love is different from crushes or infatuations in some crucial ways.
#1 When someone asks if you are seeing someone, you say “yes.” Even in the best relationships, there may be a part of you that wants to keep your options open. If you are saying it loud and saying it proud, then that means that you don’t want anyone else, no matter what they have to offer.
#2 You never get sick of having them around. You can look past those little things that irritate you. Those day-to-day annoyances are still going to get you, but you know that the good outweighs the bad.
#3 You don’t mind when they try your food. Ever have someone you are on the fence about reach over to try your food? That is grounds for a break up if you aren’t in love.
#4 You want to do things for them. If you find yourself wanting to do little things that you hate to make them feel good, then you have most likely been shot by cupid.
#5 You find yourself thinking about their happiness. You want to make the other person in your life happy. That means going out of your way, or doing little things just to see them smile.
#6 You put their wants ahead of your own. Loving someone means that sometimes you have to let your own needs and wants take a back seat. In love, there is no such thing as a one-way street.
#7 You want them to meet your family. Your family never stops asking you about the person you brought out the last time—that is why you don’t bring anyone anymore. If you are willing to introduce them into your family dynamics, then it must be true love.
#8 You choose them over your girls’ or guys’ night out. If you want your spare time to be allocated to being with that special person, instead of some random drinking night, then you are most likely in love.
#9 The butterflies pass… but you still get butterflies. If, even when the honeymoon phase has worn off, they still give you butterflies, then you are in love. That is the best kind of love: the one that continues to rekindle itself over and over.
#10 You think about what type of parent they would be. When you start to evaluate how well your mate would be at parenting, you are most likely thinking that you would like to give a partnership with them a try—kids, house, and the white picket fence.
#11 You don’t mind them staying the next day. When you are in it for the sex only, you don’t want them to hang out the next day and chit-chat. If you find that you kind of like laying around the morning after, love is in the air.
#12 You can’t even think about sex with anyone else. If you see a hot guy or girl, and you don’t dream of getting naked with them, then you are falling in love with the person you are with.
#13 You have dreams you cheat on them and wake up in a cold sweat. When you have dreams or fantasies about other people, you feel guilty about it. This means that you feel committed to another person and know that sex with someone else isn’t worth losing what you have.
#14 You tell them your fears. Telling someone your fears makes you vulnerable. You only tell the people you trust what can hurt and scare you most. If you are confiding those types of tidbits to someone, you have faith that they have your best interests at heart.
#15 When something happens, you want to pick up the phone to call them. They are the first person who pops into your head in good times and bad.
#16 When talking about them, you use the phrase “we.” If you have naturally made him or her into “we,” then it is true love.
#17 You would consider moving for them. If being with them takes priority over where you reside, then they are the most important part of your world.
#18 You don’t mind when they smell. If you don’t mind when they kiss you with bad breath, hug you after working out, or miss a shower every once in a while, then you accept them in good times and bad.
#19 When they engage in risky behaviors, you get angry with them. When you find out they drove drunk, or walked home drunk by themselves, you are angry that they jeopardized themselves. That is because you don’t ever want to be without them.
#20 You make major purchases with them. If you are okay adding them to your credit card, or going in on a major purchase like a car or house, that means that you want to build a life together.
#21 You pick out a pet together. Pet ownership is the beginning of starting a life together. If you are willing to share the responsibility of another living creature, then you are in love.
#22 You get jealous when you aren’t a jealous person. If you find that you are jealous when someone hits on them, and you aren’t usually a jealous person, they may be the first person you feel is worth holding onto.
#23 You would do just about anything for them. At two in the morning, when they need a ride, you are up and out the door. That is love.
#24 They get on your nerves, and you are okay with it. They irritate you beyond belief, but that is part of their endearing charm.
#25 You change your Facebook status. If you are willing to tell the world you are taking yourself off of the market, then you know that you’re in a relationship that is going somewhere, and don’t want anyone else.
#26 You give them a key. If you are trusting enough to let them come and go as they please, you are in love with them.
#27 Even a deal-breaker can’t break the deal. There are always things you find out in a relationship that are deal-breakers. If you find that they do that one thing you can’t stand, and you can look past it, that is unconditional love.
#28 You can sit together and say nothing at all. If you are comfortable enough to sit next to someone and not have to say a word, then you are meant to be together forever.
#29 You know how they feel before they even have to say a word. If you know what they are going to say before they say it, you are in sync. When someone becomes an extension of you, it is love.
#30 You want to spend holidays with them. Holidays are a difficult time, full of stress. If you are bringing them to Grandma’s, then carting them to your parents’, then you are ready to tie the knot.
#31 You don’t make decisions without asking their opinion. If you care enough about what they think to check with them before you make major life decisions, then they are important to your future and you have already worked them into your plans.
#32 They feel like an old pair of jeans. If being around them is like wearing an old pair of jeans, then it is love. There aren’t many people in this world that we can be ourselves around completely and fully. When you find someone you can, hang on to them.
#33 You find yourself taking in sync. If you talk in unison, you are meant for each other.
#34 You are offended if someone says something negative about them. You will defend the people you love to the death. If you get offended when you hear someone talk about them, you are in love.
#35 You feel settled in a way you haven’t felt before. If, when you are with them, it feels like you are home, for the first time since you left home, you are in love.
#36 You aren’t afraid to commit. If, for the first time, the thought of sleeping with the same person for the rest of your life doesn’t scare the shit out of you, you have been bitten by the love bug.
#37 You aren’t worried about them seeing you naked. If you know that they will love you in your imperfections, then you not only love them… you know it is mutual.
#38 Those love handles don’t bother you. If they are balding, gaining a couple of pounds, or starting to age, and it doesn’t change the way you feel about them, you love them.
#39 You see their crazy and you stay, anyway. Everyone has a crazy they keep in the closet. If you have seen it and aren’t running, you are in love.
#40 You just want to be around them. If you don’t care whether you are at a basketball game or shopping, then you love being with them no matter where you are.
#41 The bed feels empty when they aren’t around. The person you love makes your life and your bed complete.
#42 You fear losing them. If you are worried that you are going to lose them periodically, then you have something to lose.
#43 They drive you absolutely crazy. If they have this ability to make you crazy, you care a lot about them.
#44 When you think about your future, you can’t imagine them not being in it. If every plan for your future includes them, you intend to love them forever.
#45 When people ask when you’re getting married, you don’t get nervous and shirk the question… you consider it. If you aren’t brushing away people pushing you to marry, then you are in love.
#46 There isn’t anything they can say to scare you away. If you don’t get freaked out when they tell you they love you, or talk about kids, you’re smitten.
#47 You know all their stupid idiosyncrasies and are not only okay with them—you enjoy them. If you find out that they are an embarrassing dancer and get out on the dance floor with them, you are in love.
#48 You can talk about things that elicit anger and work through it. If you want to kill them and make love to them at the same time, you’re in love.
#49 They don’t complicate your life—they complement it. If you don’t have to work them into your life, but you are happy to work your life into them, you are in love.
#50 You dream about a future together. If your happily ever after wouldn’t be happy without them there, you are head over heels.
The question of how to know when you’re in love has never been easier to evaluate. Using the 50 signs above, you can determine if they are the one for you, or just another crush. Stop trying to convince yourself you’re not in love and get on with the rest of your life together.
