One of the most complex emotional experiences is love. It is not always easy to understand how do you know you love someone?. Many a time, the need to tie ourselves to someone, of intimacy, passion and sex is confused with a simple fancy.
But don’t worry, from Friends with Benefits, we want to explain these signs so that you can know if what you feel for the person you like is more than just a liking and if you can call it love.
What does it mean to be in love
“Falling in love is a temporary state in which a person feels deeply attracted to another. But true love goes far beyond this feeling.”.
Paul Hudson, philosopher, writer y entrepreneur
In concept, love is an emotional state generated by an intense and uncontrollable feeling. When we are in the presence of the person we love, we feel pleasure, well-being, fast heart beating, and sometimes a lot of nerves.
If this love is corresponded it makes us feel happy. When you fall in love at first sight, you feel in love and you feel this is reciprocated. You have an irresistible urge to be with the other person, to get to know them, to delve deep into their life and know who they are.
From a psychology point of view, love is explained with Sternberg’s triangular theory of love. Thanks to this theory, we now know the seven types of love that can happen, combining three basic elements which are intimacy, passion and commitment.
How to know you love someone
Now, do you have a partner but are not sure what your feelings for her are? I will now tell you about the main signs that will let you know if what you feel is true love.
You love her, even in your thoughts.
A clear indication that you love someone is when that person will not leave your thoughts. Remembering her keeps you tied to her, it attracts you, it evokes and feeds the need to be together.
A sign that leaves no doubt that you really love someone is when, whatever you see, you can’t avoid thinking “I’m sure she would like that” or “I have to show her that to have a laugh together.
You are a better person by her side
With her, you feel understood, free and at ease. These are signs that the other person is into your relationship and bets on you. And that at the same time, you are comfortable and feel secure with that person. Empathy and respect are foundation elements for love to flow and continue growing.
There are always difficulties, that’s true. But, if above those difficulties you are capable of reaching a solution or an agreement, that is a very good sign. What really matters is that you accept each other.
When you really fall in love with someone, a need to become a better person and evolve personally and as a couple exists. The fact of being friends with benefits will shift to the background.
Trust one another
Jealousy can cause devastating damage to a couple and sabotage a relationship. A couple that is in love will trust the other person and will know that whatever happened in each other’s past, there will be no cheating or betrayal.
When you are in love with someone, your feelings are always at the top
When you have fallen in love, your brain produces an amazing cocktail of chemical molecules, making you feel as if you were floating on a cloud. You feel you’re floating only because you are in love and it is a feeling you don’t ever want to leave you.
But be careful, even though no one wants to get down from the cloud, the problem is that inevitably, at some point you will have to do it.
When you love someone, you already are at the finish line
If your goal when you started a relationship was falling in love and that has happened, you might feel scared. You will start feeling the need to move forward.
But don’t forget everything in life has an end. It might not be about making everything grow bigger, about moving forward all the time. Sometimes it is about reinforcing what you already have.
Being in love with someone is not only understanding that with that person you have everything you need, it also implies wanting to make that bond grow stronger indefinitely.
What does science say?
To understand what falling in love is you have to pay attention to the signs that your body sends. Science says love is a chemical affair in which different organic processes are involved imminently leading to a dopamine release.
Feeling in love can be like a drug addiction and sometimes we don’t even notice. We are simply love junkies. So, let’s see what science has to say about this.
You feel you hallucinate
A study from the Kinsey Institute, found that the brain of a person in love, looks similar to that of one who has taken cocaine. Dopamine is the hormone that causes this. Scientifically, when someone consumes cocaine, the cocaine molecule adheres to the dopamine transporting protein, preventing the normal process of recycling; this results in an increased amount of the drug in the synaptic union. As with the drug, when you are in love, the pleasant effects are magnified and exaggerated.
You lately feel very stressed
Love is associated with warm and diffuse feelings. But it can also cause a lot of stress. It has been proved that when you are in love, the brain releases cortisol, also called the stress hormone. If you feel you’re lacking patience lately, and that you’re on edge with things that normally would not bother you, you might be stressed, or it might be another sign that you are in love.
You might feel less pain
Stanford School of Medicine conducted a study which revealed that people who were looking at a picture of a loved one would feel moderate pain up to 40% less, and intense pain 15% less.
Conclusions
Knowing that you are in love is a real feeling, not a fantasy.
From a superfluous point of view it might look like an obvious statement, but it is not so. When you love someone, you will go through different phases, good and bad.
Nonetheless, remember love is not a fail-safe emotion like in the movies. If you ask yourself how to express love, you will find there are many ways to do so. You will also discover there are many types of relationships and just as many different ways to love. What you really need to know is if you are, in fact, in love.
Showing respect to each other, feeling complete, happy and talking things over when difficulties arise. These are the main signs that will indicate that you really love someone.
And if you are still looking for your other half, you can begin at Friends with Benefits, the web that gets you in contact with women that look for all kinds of relationships. Are you looking for a night of passion or are you trying to find someone to show you how to fall back in love? Subscribe and find the relationship you are looking for.
The best part is that it’s free.
