Are you in love?

What’s the difference between “having a crush” on someone and falling in love?

You think you’re falling in love. You’re really attracted to a certain person. But this has happened before, and it was just a “crush”. How can you tell if it’s real this time? Here’s what some readers said.

If you’re falling in love…

--- You’ll find yourself talking to, calling, or texting the person for no reason (You might pretend there’s a reason, but often there’s not…)

--- You’ll find yourself bringing this person into every conversation. (“When I was in the USA -, a friend begins. You interrupt with, “my girlfriend made a great trip to the USA last week.”)

--- You might suddenly be interested in things you used to avoid. (“When a woman asks me to tell her all about soccer, I know she’s fallen in love”, said a TV sports announcer.)

OK, so you’ve fallen in love. But falling in love is one thing, and staying in love is another. How can you tell, as time passes, that you’re still in love?

If you stay in love, your relationship will change. You might not talk as much about the person you are in love with. You might not call him or her so often. But this person will nevertheless become more and more important in your life.

You’ll find that you can be yourself with this person. When you first fell in love, you were probably afraid to admit certain things about yourself. But now you can be totally honest. You can trust him or her to accept you just as you are. Falling in love is great – staying in love is even better!