An individual can experience different types of attraction towards the other, from sexual to emotional to love. Knowing the difference between each one of them is crucial in defining the relationship you have. Find out what does romantic attraction feel like and how to distinguish it from other types of attraction.
Let’s Start by Explaining What an Attraction Is
Attractiveness is an interest, desire, affinity, or liking that can be emotional, sexual, romantic, physical, or aesthetic. As you can see, attractiveness comes in many forms, and people can experience several of them simultaneously.
Many individuals think there is only one type of attraction, a romantic one, but you can have different feelings towards an individual that can fall under this category. Learning more about the nature of attraction we experience will help us understand better what we are feeling.
There Are Different Types of Attraction
A big part of taking care of yourself and your feelings is learning how to recognize what you are feeling. So when you start a relationship with someone, you don’t mislead yourself or that individual. Also, as there are several types of attraction, various types of individuals experience these emotions differently.
For example, when we talk about introverts vs. extroverts, one of the main differences will be how they express themselves and how they share their thoughts and emotions. If you are not sure about what you are feeling or you’re going through a bad breakup, attraction toward someone can trick us into rushing things up and misjudging what we are actually feeling. So if you are in a rough phase, seek therapy for women to work together with professionals on understanding your feelings. Here are the main types of attraction:
- Emotional,
- Romantic,
- Sexual,
- Physical,
- Aesthetic.
What Does Romantic Attraction Feel Like
Romantical feelings can be described as deep emotional interest and connection with another individual that is not purely physical or sexual. One of the first signs is that you wish to be intimate with that individual, but that intimacy doesn’t need to be of a sexual nature.
When you are romantically attracted to someone, you want to be around that individual all the time. You wish to share your future, dreams, and every little thing that is going on in your life. And if the person you are attracted to wishes to share the same things as well, that sounds like love.
You Feel Connected to That individual on So Many Levels
A pure desire to be around someone is not everything romance is about. What does it mean to like someone romantically is to feel connected to that individual on so many levels. You can easily talk to them, make jokes and share things you will normally do after some time passes. You don’t necessarily have to have the same interests, but your points of view should be similar.
If their ideas and thoughts are attractive to you and that individual inspires you, then there is no doubt you like this person very much. If you wish to know all about the other person’s interests, it means you are probably going to end up in love with them.
You Are Happy Whenever Around That Person
If you catch yourself smiling all the time when you are around that special someone or whenever you think about them, it probably means you have developed some loving feelings. If you are happy whenever around that person or you daydream a lot about them, you have some romantic feelings for sure, but if you are seeing someone for a while and you don’t feel excited or happy about it, that is a sign you should walk away from that relationship.
You Have Plans Together
If your daydreaming includes thoughts about your future together, you are thinking about this individual more seriously. If the other person is daydreaming too, then you are on a good road to developing a deep relationship. When planning a future doesn’t give you any anxiety symptoms, then that is a sign you are comfortable enough and that committing to that person doesn’t scare you.
You Want to Be Physically Close to Them
What are romantic feelings? Loving feelings don’t exclude sexual ones. But if sexual attractiveness is all you feel, then that is not romance. If you wish to be intimate with someone without sexual intercourse, that means you wish for more than a physical relationship with someone.
So if you just want to lay next to that person and cuddle until you fall asleep, then that is more than just sexual attraction. If you have an urge to touch, hug or hold the other person’s hand, those are the signs you are feeling more.
Is Attraction a Key to a Healthy Relationship?
Like with anything in life, having a healthy foundation is the key to success. The same is when it comes to a relationship. If you start one with misleading or uncertain feelings, you will end up hurting yourself or your partner. To have a healthy relationship, you need to have a deep and good understanding of what you are feeling. This way, you will not confuse sexual attraction, with a romantic one, for example.
People often make these mistakes. Usually, after a long relationship, they rush to get into a new one without giving themselves enough time to get over a breakup. This is why self-care is important. With good counseling for women and self-care tips, you will learn to give yourself some time to process the breakup without taking any steps that can lead to a toxic and unhealthy relationship.
The Attraction You Don’t Want in Your Life
With the help of therapists, you can learn how to recognize bad patterns you have when it comes to choosing partners because if you are constantly ending up with people who don’t respect you and take care of you the way you deserve, the problem is probably deep inside of you.
By learning how to avoid “bad boys,” you will break the destructive patterns and be able to start a relationship with someone good for you. Here are some red flags that can indicate you are attracted to unhealthy individuals:
- Attracted to unavailability – This means that you are constantly going after people who don’t wish to be around you. To rephrase this, you have a desire to chase those who are untouchable. If this is something you do, talk to a counselor for women so you can resolve these issues and start seeing people who actually want you around.
- Constant criticism – If you are attracted to people who constantly pick on you and criticize you, you have probably grown up in a family of critics. Avoid individuals who behave this way. Break the pattern and seek someone kind.
- Attracted to the damaged and wounded – Many are drawn to the damaged and wounded and have a need to help them and put them back on their feet. However, relationships like that usually end with a breakup because either you will get tired of taking care of them, or they will get better and move on.
- You want drama in your life – Many people think they want drama in their life. They usually believe that drama is passion in their relationship and that without it, everything is boring. Even though it can be exciting in the beginning, in the end, it will just become mentally exhausting and toxic.
With the Help of Women’s Counseling, You Will Learn How to Avoid Unhealthy Relationships
As you can see, there can be many reasons why we jump into bad relationships and why we are attracted to those who are not good for us. If you recognize some unhealthy patterns in yourself, then seeking therapy could be a good start to breaking those habits. Women’s therapy will help you maintain relationships you already have and understand the various emotions you might be feeling.
You can search for therapy for women of color. There, you will find an expert who will understand the specific circumstances you are in and give you guidance that is tailored to your needs. With the emotional support of a therapist of color, you can deal with all the problems. You will learn how to deal with stress, discrimination, and how to deal with racism, among other things. Many things can impact our behavior without us being aware of it until we start inspecting our emotions.