7 Signs You’re Falling in Love

There’s nothing quite like falling in love. The magic, the unease, the wonder, the hope, the nerves and everything else all stunningly mixed into one very confused and elated mind—yours. It can be hard to know if you’re falling in love, and at the same time it can be easy to suddenly feel yourself falling.

Whether a slow and steady realization, or a sudden and intense feeling you have like butterflies in your stomach—there are actually quite a few signs to show that you’re falling in love. They aren’t the same for all of us, but if you’re feeling or noticing any of these tell-tale signs, love might just be knocking at your door. Let’s see if it’s time for you to answer.

1) You Can’t Stop Thinking About Them

One of the most obvious signs that you’re falling in love is a sudden inability to focus on anything else. No matter where you look, their face just happens to be there. No matter what you do, an image or a thought of them seems to roll across your mind.

It’s not that you don’t want to think about them, it’s simply that you can’t stop. Your brain is suddenly in overdrive and you aren’t just thinking about them, but relating everything you do or everyone you talk to, to them. You’re steering conversations around that funny thing they told you or redirecting your plans to try and involve them. Which leads us to…

2) You Want to Be Around Them

Whether the intoxicating smell they give off or simply the feeling of elation when you’re around them, you want more of it. You want to hang out with them, talk to them, go on adventures, go on dates and explore the world or simply lie on the couch and pretend the world doesn’t exist.

It doesn’t matter what the event or the place, you simply enjoy their company more than anyone else. Whatever you do and wherever you are, you know it’ll be made better with them by your side.

3) You’re Awash with Empathy for Them

It’s possible that you’re a very giving and generous person at heart, and you feel empathy for most all people already. However, sometimes the effect of love can multiply that feeling substantially, or have it emerge in people that have never experienced it.

You might find yourself thinking of their well-being before your own, their happiness before your own. You might find yourself doing anything you can to involve yourself in their world by taking part in their hobbies or trying to help them with mundane tasks. However they are feeling, you start to feel that way too. If that’s sadness, happiness, worry, or surprise, you suddenly feel yourself on their wavelength.

4) You’re More Open to Affection with Them

Maybe you’ve had a hard time showing yourself to be in a relationship before this person, maybe you didn’t want to feel tied down—but now that doesn’t seem so bad. You care less how it looks to give a kiss in public, to hold their hands as you walk, to be more intimate and open and not hide yourself, because the bottom line is they make you feel good.

No matter where you are, they make you feel good, and why would that be something to hide?

5) You Feel More Vulnerable with Them

A sign you’re falling in love is that your walls you built up to keep yourself safe from heartbreak or anything else are starting to come down. The gates are opening, the defenses lessened, and you feel more willing to let someone through.

Yes, that can make you more open to being hurt—but the tough truth of it is that unless you’re willing to be that open with them, you’ll stop yourself from fully falling in love. After all, you’re falling with the hope that they catch you—that’s the gamble of vulnerability in love.

6) You Start Imagining Your Future with Them

Daydreams and real dreams start swarming in your head. You see a home with them, lazy Sundays, a wedding or a family. You think about all the things that maybe scared you or that you hoped for and they’re finally just a little clearer. You can see them as long as they happen with that person.

The future as a whole seems less scary, but more exciting. You feel like you’ve found the person you want to spend time with. We don’t even mean grow old together, we simply mean you see all the things you’ve wanted to do, and you see someone to do them with.

Maybe that means traveling the globe, maybe it means a house or a dog or a baby—but whatever it means, its easier to imagine or more exciting to hope for.  

7) You’re Searching for How to Express Your Feelings

When all these feelings come together, you might be struggling with how to articulate them. You might’ve never said those three words before and saying them means something to you. You might be trying to talk yourself out of it, but there’s just something different about this person.

You know them, they make you smile, they make you laugh—you know their quirks and you love those things about them. You love their personality, how they hold themselves, how you feel when you’re around them. You love that they inspire you to be more, that they are always there for you, that they’re the first person you want to share good news with and the first person you want to turn to when you have bad news. You love all these things about them and you realize the reason you love all these things is simple: you love them.

You’re searching for how to admit it, but all these signs are pointing you in one direction—you’re falling in love. Love is knocking at your door. The only question is: are you going to answer?