Are those really butterflies or are you just hungry? So are you in love, or are you just confused about your feelings? Don’t worry, we’ll help you.
Oh, love, what a strange thing! We spend most of our lives looking
for it and when we have it, there’s always a bunch of questions that pop
up. Am I ready? Do they really love me? Are you in love for real? Do I
see them in my future?
The list goes on and on. Yet, we want this agony! We long to go
through these personal dilemmas in the name of love. So, how do you know
you’re actually in love, though?
Are you in love? 13 answers to your question
There have been many times where I thought I was in love, but I
simply liked the idea of that person. I liked the idea of falling in
love with someone I met at a music festival or dating someone who met me
under a tree in the pouring rain. But was that true love? I don’t think
so.
If you find yourself wondering, are you in love, it’s a good question
to ask. Because love isn’t an easy emotion to deal with. And you
thought love was hard—this is only the beginning. Here are a few more
things you need to ask yourself now.
#1 You think this person is different from the rest. To
you, this person is literally the best thing walking this earth. You
don’t see anyone else aside from your partner. This is a feeling
strongly correlated to being in love. If you don’t see anyone else with
romantic eyes, perhaps you caught the love bug.
#2 You only see the positive. Do they have any
flaws? Trust me, they do. Right now, you only look at their beautiful
qualities. When you’re in love, you tend to overlook negative attributes
of people, focusing on only the good. Which is beautiful, I mean, it
fades with time. When you think about them, you’re smiling, daydreaming
of seeing them again.
#3 You’re unstable, emotionally. Listen, love isn’t
all puppies and rainbows. You probably think you’re losing your mind,
almost like being drunk. You hit both sides of the spectrum: joy,
giddiness, exhilaration. But then, something small happens, you feel
extreme anxiety and sadness.
#4 This person is always on your mind. You eat,
sleep, and work with them floating around in your head. This is called
intrusive thinking and is actually a form of obsessive behavior, believe
it or not. Now, this behavior could be an issue if you find yourself
unable to redirect yourself from obsessive thoughts.
#5 You spend most of your time with them. When we’re
in love, we invest all of our time being next to the person. You find
yourself spending more time with them, distancing yourself from your
friends. In the beginning, this is somewhat normal. People always joke
around about having their friends stolen by their
girlfriends/boyfriends, because it’s true.
#6 You defend your partner. If your friends say
something negative about your partner, you defend them. Regardless, if
you think your friends are right or not, you stand by your partner’s
side.
#7 You don’t think about your ex. You may have seen
that your ex has a new partner or is engaged, but you don’t care. In
fact, you were happy for them which is an unusual reaction for you.
And now that you have this new partner, you aren’t looking back at your
past with regrets.
#8 You think about the future. You never thought you
would be thinking about the future, but now, you think about your
future with your partner. Moving in with them, maybe getting married. If
you’re in love, you’re thinking about forever.
#9 You feel them. I’m talking about emotions here,
not the physical. When you’re in love, you feel extreme empathy towards
your partner. When they’re happy, you’re happy. When they’re sad, you
feel their pain. This shows a deeper emotional connection between you
and your partner.
#10 You like what they like. They like doing things
that you love to do and vice versa. When you’re in love, people tend to
align their interests with their partners. Basically, you start to mimic
each other. You start dressing the same, having similar habits, and
behaving the same.
#11 You’re possessive. You do not want anyone else
to even remotely glance at your partner. When in love, we only have
eyes for our partners. But with that, we can also become extremely
jealous and possessive of them. This is due to our emotional bond to
them and fear of losing them. But you won’t lose them, they love you.
So, pipe down.
#12 There is mad sexual chemistry. You want to have
sex with them all the time. If you had it your way, you would quit your
job and live in bed with them. Don’t do that, you need to pay your rent.
But the point is, your emotional connection makes you want to always
have intimacy with them. This is why the first couple months are called
the honeymoon phase.
#13 You remember all the small things. You know what
their favorite ice cream flavor is, what their favorite band is, and
where their dream vacation would be. You keep note of everything and
when you can, you surprise them with the shirt they wanted to buy or
their favorite cake. You’re not doing this to win them over, you’re
doing this because it makes you feel good to see them happy.
Now that you know what it looks like to be in love, are you
in love? If you’re not sure, don’t put so much pressure on yourself to
figure it out. Give yourself time.
