 Hey, Psych2Goers! Are you crushing on someone right now? Liking someone can be incredibly confusing and frustrating because it can either end in love or heartbreak. But it's also one of the most fun and exciting things you could ever experience. So while there is no definitive theory yet about how we develop crushes and what we go through when we do, here at Psych2Go, we've done our best to come up with these six stages we believe everyone with a crush goes through. Stage 1. Interest. So the story begins when you meet someone new for the first time and you feel intrigued by them. This stage can happen at any given moment. Sometimes it can be as quick as when you first lay your eyes on them and other times it can take a while before you feel a spark. When you develop a crush on someone you've known for a long time, like a close friend, a lot of people tend to deny and debate with their feelings first before they can accept them. But the moments you do, you'll suddenly feel the pull of romantic attraction taking a hold of you, that there's something special about this person. That's when you move on to stage 2. Curiosity. Did you look up your crush's Facebook profile, browse through all their posts and tweets, and view their Instagram stories? Maybe you even added them on one of their handles if you were feeling brave enough. You did all of this so that you could get a better idea about what kind of person they are. How much they have in common with you and how compatible you be together. Once someone catches your eye, it's only natural to feel curious about them. You want to get to know them better. All their likes and dislikes, their hobbies, their dreams, their favorite things. Some people do this by simply going up to their crush and asking them about it. But others feel too flustered and nervous to even strike up a casual conversation. So that's where social media enters the story, like a knight in shining armor. Stage 3. Infatuation. Now that you know for sure you have a crush on this person, next comes infatuation. And for many of us, this is the best part about having a crush. Because when you're infatuated with someone, your whole world starts to change. Everything seems so much brighter, more vibrant and more beautiful to you now that you've found someone who makes you giddy with excitement every time you think about them. There's this never-ending flurry of butterflies fluttering in your stomach. And you always feel like you're floating on cloud nine, with each glance or each word of conversation you share with your crush. They send you a text message and you feel like your whole day is made. They make you laugh and the memory doesn't leave your mind for days. Even the mere mention of their name is enough to make you blush and swoon. At this stage, everything seems perfect. Your crush is everything you ever wanted, and you just want this feeling to last forever. Then comes stage 4, sharing. You know you're really starting to get serious feelings about someone when you tell your friends about them. Of course, sometimes your friends can figure it out for themselves when you have a crush. But what matters most isn't that your friends already know, it's that you wanted to tell them about it regardless. You want to talk to your friends about how your crush makes you feel and tell them all the things you like about them. You want their advice about what to reply to your crush's text or what to say next time you see them. And you ask them what they think your crush meant when they told you this or that. You want their support and their encouragement, but also their honest opinion. And it's usually because of your friends that you slowly start to realize the flaws your crushes have, or where your relationship with them is going. Which can end with you either heading to stage 5 or straight to stage 6. More on that later. Stage 5, falling in love. To like and to love are two very different things. But sometimes your crush turns into something more and you find yourself falling in love with them. At this stage, your feelings for them are no longer clouding your judgment about them. You've stopped putting them on a pedestal and thinking of them is perfect. And instead, get to know them well and grow closer to them in a way that allows you to see them for who they really are. And if you're lucky enough that they feel the same way about you too, then you're on your way to starting a romantic relationship with your crush. Congratulations. Stage 6, falling out of love. On the other hand, however, you may find yourself falling out of love with your crush after having seriously thought everything out between the two of you. Maybe you realize they aren't as great as you used to think and it's made you lose interest in them. Or perhaps you feel that there's very little chance of them ever liking you back or seeing you as more than just a friend. Whatever the reason may be, it's made you reconsider your feelings and snap out of your crush. It may take some time before you can accept it and depending on how strongly you once felt about them, it can be a painfully devastating thing to go through. But once it's all over and you've finally moved on, you'll thank yourself for ending it because deep down inside, you knew that this person wasn't right for you. And then it just wasn't meant to be. Oh well, maybe the next one to come along will be better. Do you relate to any of the things mentioned here? How does having a crush feel like for you? Can you identify the stage you're in right now? Do let us know in the comments below. If you found this video interesting, like and share it with others as well. 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