The feeling of being in love is unique for everyone. Some people have experienced love often and are used to the feeling. For others, they are not able to tell the difference between love and deep infatuation.
How to know you are in love? As there is no definitive way or scale to measure it with, it basically comes down to your gut feeling. Luckily, your body and mind have some sneaky ways of alerting you to this feeling. To help you figure it out the answer- this article will go over some of the most obvious signs.
Some people report feeling love at first sight. Others take months to form a deep connection with another person. Before discussing the signs that you may be in love, let’s look at how long these feelings can take to manifest.
How long does it take to fall in love?
One survey by the DailyMail revealed that men may fall in love faster than women. According to the research, men take an average of 88 days to tell their partner the sacred words ‘I love you’. For women, it takes an average of 134 days.
What complicates things, however, is most people think of saying these words long before they actually vocalize them. So, does that mean that people usually fall in love much faster? Does love at first sight exist?
In fact, one 2017 poll showed that 61% of women and 72% of men believe that love at first sight is real. Let’s examine the science behind this phenomenon.
Our brains are wired for love, whether we like it or not. You are naturally inclined to focus on reproduction, even if you’re not consciously seeking it. Loretta G. Breuning, PhD, professor at California State University states that “Your brain is focused on survival, and reproduction is the pinnacle of survival”. Very romantic, right?
Falling in love feels good. When you see someone that you are attracted to, the brain releases hormones and chemicals such as dopamine, oxytocin, and adrenaline into your body. Because of these chemical reactions, you may feel an instant attachment to someone.
Now that we’ve covered how long it might take you to experience these feelings, let’s go back to the question of ‘how to know you are in love’?
How to know you are in love with someone. 10 signs that you should look out for
1. They’re always on your mind
When you love someone, it may feel impossible to stop thinking about them. This is especially true during the early stages of a relationship.
When you form an intimate connection with someone, your brain releases phenylethylamine, sometimes referred to as the ‘love drug’. This hormone leads to the feeling of infatuation for your partner.
Funnily enough, this chemical is also found in chocolate. This might explain why it’s so hard to stop after just one bite.
2. You’ll go out of your way to spend time with them
If you are in love, you’ll sacrifice a lot to be with your partner. It is common to find yourself changing your entire schedule just to make more time to see them.
It might be driving an hour out of your way, sacrificing nights out with friends, or even dedicating weekends entirely to see that person.
Most importantly – you don’t mind it at all. You won’t have second thoughts about missing a fun event or reshuffling your whole life just to spend a couple of hours together. You’re simply happy to do it.
3. You find yourself talking about them. A lot.
It feels like you can’t help it. Things constantly happen that remind you of them and before you know it, you’re talking about them again.
It’s just human nature to bring up the things and people we love in conversations. As they are always in our minds, anything that reminds us of them may trigger this habit.
A lot of the time, you won’t even be aware of it. If your friends are tired of hearing about them, this is a good indicator you are guilty of this sign.
4. You re-read their messages
Think about it. How often do you re-read messages from your friends or your parents? You might need to go over messages again to clarify something but most of the time, it’s not just for the sake of reading them.
When you are in love, you might find yourself going back over conversations you had days earlier with that person. You find that reading your intimate and funny messages is a great way to put a smile on your face.
You might even be someone who likes to declutter their phone and delete their emails and texts. With this person, you are the opposite.
5. You want to find out everything you can about them
A little mystery is fun. That doesn’t change the fact that when you develop deep feelings for someone, you want to learn more about them.
You can’t help but be interested in every little detail about them. It might be everything from the way they dress, their passions, or even their random collections. When they tell you stories and open up about their life, you’ll find yourself hooked on every word they say.
At the same time, it’s important to respect your partners privacy. If you can tell they are not comfortable speaking about something yet, don’t push them. After all, if you are in love – you will also respect that persons boundaries.
6. You lose your appetite
This is a common occurrence during the excitement of a new relationship. As you are anticipating meetings with each other, you may find yourself feeling nervous and less hungry.
This is not a bad thing. Even if you are usually the most confident person, you are likely to feel the butterflies before meeting that special person.
7. When you are with them, you lose track of time
When thinking about the question of how to know you are in love – one of the most telling signs is that your time together flies by.
At the end of a phone call that lasted hours, it may feel like you’ve only been talking for a brief moment. You can spend a whole day together and it feels like it was only a few hours.
Time will fly when you are with someone you love. In addition, it doesn’t matter how much time you spend together – It will still be hard to say goodbye.
8. You have greater levels of energy and motivation
Feelings of love tend to radiate throughout your daily activities. All these chemicals in your brain lead to feelings of happiness and that leads to increased productivity.
You will find yourself more motivated and feel as if you can take on the world. Many find themselves going to the gym more, taking up new hobbies and generally being more productive with their time.
So, have you been feeling high on life recently? It might be because of that special someone that you’re seeing.
9. You want to meet their family
Meeting your significant other’s family isn’t exactly the most exciting of prospects for new couples. From fear of them not liking you, to taking the relationship too fast, this can be a controversial topic.
If you’ve found yourself really wanting to get to know your partner’s relatives, this is a sign your relationship has progressed into something more serious.
Sure, the family may not be your cup of tea, but making an effort to get along with them indicate you’re in it for the long haul. It shows that you truly care about and respect the feelings of your boyfriend or girlfriend.
10. You forget about your Ex
Another great sign on how to know you are in love is that you completely forgot about your ex.
Was your last break up something that you thought about for months? It might be that you miss their presence. Alternatively, you might just hate their guts.
Did you notice these thoughts go away suddenly? Your indifference might be due to the new person you are seeing.
It can be a weird feeling. At one point, you would not be able to imagine a day where they’re truly gone from your thoughts. Yet, here you are. Someone else has taken over your thoughts, and for the better.
In conclusion
Hopefully, these 10 signs gave you a better perception on the question of ‘how to know if you are in love with someone?’.
You must also remember that it’s important not to stop seeking love in fear of the pain it can bring.
As relationships end, we find out more about ourselves. Eventually, you will look back on your past relationships learning experiences. At the same time, it allows you to be more wary of where you invest your energy in the future.
Even though love sometimes ends in pain, it teaches you valuable lessons.
