Everyone experiences falling in love differently. That’s why it can be so tricky to work out whether you like someone or not. Different people go through different feelings and experiences. But there are still a few common emotions that most people record feeling when they like someone, or when they’re falling in love. Check them out below. If you can relate, you know what you’re feeling is real.
- Safety and security Having feelings of safety and security is a big sign that you like someone. If you feel comfortable with them, or get a sense of “home” or familiarity, then it could mean you have feelings for them. That’s not to say that being nervous is a bad sign. In the beginning, it’s normal to feel butterflies or even anxiety around someone you like, especially if you’re prone to nerves like that. Over time, though, you’ll start to feel more comfortable around someone you have a connection with.
- Jealousy Contrary to popular belief, feeling jealous isn’t always a bad thing. If you feel mild jealousy when you think of the person you’re dating with someone else, at least it’s a sign that you like them. You wouldn’t care about the threat of losing them if you didn’t have any feelings for them whatsoever.
- The desire to share with them One of the natural responses to liking someone is wanting to share things with them. When something good happens, you’ll want to tell them about it. Or when something makes you upset, you’ll feel like venting to them. If you don’t feel the urge to share anything with them, it could be a sign you don’t have any feelings for them.
- Overwhelmed When you first start liking someone, the feeling can be overwhelming. Not overwhelming in the sense that it takes away your ability to function in daily life. But consuming enough for you to keep thinking about them, even when you’re not with them. You might also start talking about them a lot, to the point where your friends get sick of it!
- Excited A good test of how you feel about someone is your response when they message you. Do you feel excited when their name pops up on your phone? Knots of dread? Indifferent? These different feelings can say a lot about what’s going on in your heart. Naturally, you’ll be excited when someone you like contacts you.
- Missing them Another sign that you really like someone is missing them when they’re not there. If you can’t stop thinking about them and wish they were around when they’re not, it’s an indication that you do have strong feelings for them.
- The urge to be close to them Liking someone involves being attracted to them on multiple levels, including physical. So if you have an urge to be close to that person—to touch them—then it’s a sign that you are physically attracted, which is a component of having feelings for them. Obviously, you can be physically attracted to someone without having any other feelings for them too.
- Curiosity about the future If you like the person you’re dating, you’ll probably start to imagine a future with them. Maybe you won’t necessarily start planning the wedding, but you’ll think about what your life would look like with them in it, no matter what stage of life you’re at. Even if commitment is still a long way away, this will be a consideration for you. Whereas if you don’t like a person at all, you probably won’t think about factoring them into your future.
- Motivated to see them Normally, when you like someone, you’ll make them one of your priorities. When someone you like wants to see you, you’re fitting them into your schedule, no matter how inconvenient it is. That’s why “being too busy” to see someone usually just means that you don’t like them enough. Most of the time, they’re just not enough of a priority to go out of your way for. And they would be if you liked them.
- Focused You can date other people and still like one specific person. There’s nothing wrong with keeping your options open in the beginning, or longer if you’re honest with your date about it and they’re on the same page. But generally, if you are continuing to match with others or see others after a while and you’re putting effort into those matches, then it’s a sign you don’t like that one person enough.
