The most common sign of having a crush is the feeling that you have a million butterflies flying around inside you when that special someone is around. It can also feel like your heart does a leap when you see your crush and you feel warm and giddy. Do you suddenly feel nervous but excited at the same time?
It can make you feel heartbroken and even a little hopeless. These are natural feelings. Luckily, there are ways you can make it easier on yourself. Once a little time passes, you will probably start feeling a lot better.
It starts with a crush
That first spark of attraction ignites a region buried deep inside the brain called the ventral tegmental area, or VTA. Recognizing a potential reward in the making, the VTA begins producing a chemical called dopamine, often called the “feel-good” neurotransmitter.
“Your dopamine levels instantly increase because you've detected something desirable in your environment. You are instantly focused and excited by the person you see. Your norepinephrine levels also increase which further focus you, but also make you nervous and a bit cautious.”
You bounce between exhilaration, euphoria, increased energy, sleeplessness, loss of appetite, trembling, a racing heart and accelerated breathing, as well as anxiety, panic and feelings of despair when your relationship suffers even the smallest setback.
Here are some signals that they like you: They constantly talk to you to the point where it's on the border of being annoying. They blush at the smallest things you do or say to them. You catch them staring at you and then smiling or making a funny face when you notice.
You feel like a complete individual
Both people are free to be their whole selves. Couples experience "true individuation and self-discovery" when they're truly in love, explains Carroll. In this way, you don't feel incomplete without them but rather that you're two whole people who work well as a team.
But being in love isn't all in our heads: these chemicals can cause reactions throughout the body, which might help explain that tingly-all-over feeling we get when we see a loved one, or the "high" we feel after we've met that special someone.
That's because feelings of a crush and feelings of love release the mood-boosting hormones dopamine and oxytocin to the brain, Stephanie Cacioppo, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at The University of Chicago, told INSIDER.
When you lock eyes with the person who makes your heart race — whether it's a new crush or the love of your life — your brain releases hormones such as dopamine, adrenaline, and norepinephrine, which make your heart beat faster and stronger.
Obsessing over a crush floods our brains with feel-good hormones, so it can be “a little addictive,” she says, and a hard habit to break. However, over-indulging in fantasy is not so great for a number of reasons, and it can be helpful to remind yourself of that next time you start fixating on someone.
Like touch, eye contact triggers the release of oxytocin. When someone is attracted to you, they subconsciously will try engaging in lots of mutual eye contact. They do this to feel closer to you, and because they are interested in you and what you are saying.
Mirroring is a way of imitating another person's body language. People mirror when they find the other person interesting, want to build rapport, or if they're attracted to them.
“I have feelings for you,” can imply a growing emotional attachment. It can imply a concern that transcends the traditional bonds of friendship. When someone tells you that they have “feelings” for you, it hints at a deeper attraction that is characterized more by a desire than a general enjoyment of your company.
High levels of dopamine and a related hormone, norepinephrine, are released during attraction. These chemicals make us giddy, energetic, and euphoric, even leading to decreased appetite and insomnia – which means you actually can be so “in love” that you can't eat and can't sleep.
For example, if your crush gets flustered when talking or fidgets a little more than usual, they're likely interested in you. See if your crush is sweating or blushing for other signs they may be a little nervous around you.
You know you've found a kindred soulmate when you pretty much agree on all of the small and big stuff. “You love the same things; laugh at the same jokes; agree and disagree with love and affection; compete with gusto but without bitterness or jealousy. These people share the same journey toward truth and love,” Dr.