What To Do If You Fall In Love With Your Best Friend (or Friend)?
There are times when the story between two friends can become something more, and friendship can give way to a romantic relationship However, when one of the two friends feels more than the other and falls in love without being reciprocated, the friendship becomes complicated.
Being in love with your best friend can be a complex situation, which usually awakens very intense feelings. In this context, maturity is key to managing the situation when you do not want to lose friendship and affection. Knowing how to make a wise decision will determine the success of your relationship in the future, whether as friends or as a couple.
There are many friendship stories that have broken because love has appeared between two inseparable companions, but stories and love adventures have also been written that have arisen from the unique connection that a pair of good friends have felt.
The line between friendship and romantic love is fragile, and that is why many individuals believe that it is not possible for feelings of friendship to exist between two people of the opposite sex who have learned to love each other like brothers without being family. And when a true friend (of the opposite sex) connects deeply with us and our needs, something more than a simple friendship can emerge.
In these cases, the doubt arises as to whether it is worth risking everything and losing that person who is so important to us.
Can friendship exist between a man and a woman (heterosexual)?
Our friends can give us great joy, that is why it is said that “he who has a friend, has a treasure.” In reality, we all decide who is part of our circle of friends, since friends are the family that one chooses to live a full life.
Finding that person with whom we can share our good moments and our sadness, with whom we can bare our soul and who understands and accepts us just as we are, is a great gift of life.
Sometimes, that special friend can be someone of the opposite sex, and then one of the most recurring questions may arise: Is friendship between a woman and a man possible? Undoubtedly, yes! But sometimes this close friendship can become a great challenge, and a more than exciting and, at the same time, terrifying barrier can arise that confronts friendship with attraction or with a deeper and more intense feeling: falling in love with our best friend
How to know if you are in love with your best friend
When we fall in love with our best friend, the feelings are so strong and contradictory that the fear of revealing them can be paralyzing due to the fear of losing the affection of this person who is so important to us.
In this sense, if we want to maintain affection with our friend, it is necessary to detect if what we feel towards him or her is friendship or, instead, we have developed feelings of attraction and infatuation. But, what are these signs?
1. You don’t treat him the same as other friends
When you want your friend to be your partner, you behave differently than you would if it were just any friend. And falling in love changes your behavior For example, it may now hurt you when your friend talks to you about her romance, something that didn’t happen before.
2. You care more than other friends
Almost without realizing it, the person who was your friend has become your priority She has become too important a part of your life and you care about her happiness almost as if it were your own.
3. You can’t wait to see that person
Seeing your friend as something more makes you want to spend a lot of time with him or her, making you have a great need to see him or her all the time. Anticipating each encounter makes you feel nervous in a characteristic way and it doesn’t just happen when you haven’t seen each other for many weeks.
You probably have many friends of the opposite sex, but You wouldn’t melt into everyone’s arms the same way you would with your special friend The hugs of this person who you consider unique make you feel something magical, something that no one else makes you feel.
5. He attracts you
A sure sign that your friend is no longer just your friend is that you are attracted to him or her and want to have intimate moments with him or her. Surely you want to be alone with your friend, to be able to connect emotionally.
6. You think about that person all day
It has stolen your thoughts, it has hijacked your attention and now it is present in your mind for much of the day That’s why you write to him on WhatsApp all the time and talk to him differently than you would with other friends.
What to do if you fall in love with your best friend
Being in love is one of the best experiences we can have, as long as the other person feels the same way towards us. Otherwise, we can suffer from unrequited love, which can affect our self-esteem and cause frustration and anxiety, among other psychological symptoms.
This situation is especially delicate if the unrequited love is that of our best friend. However, If romanticism triumphs, friendship can give way to true love
Falling in love with our best friend can be incredible, but it can also mean putting our beloved friendship at risk, so it is logical that doubts arise about whether we should tell them or keep this immense feeling quiet. So what should we do if this happens to us?
1. Be aware of it and accept the situation
When we fall in love with our best friend, there is no point in running away from this feeling and repressing it, because in one way or another it will affect both us and the friendship relationship. If we find ourselves in this situation, the best option is to recognize the signs that I have talked about in the previous lines and accept that falling in love with a friend is something that can happen and, in fact, happens with some frequency.
When you know how you feel about your best friend, you can observe their behavior to see if they really feel the same way about you This can help you accept the situation that is approaching, reflect on what is happening and make a decision regarding how you are going to manage this new reality in which you live immersed.
3. Be honest with yourself and your friend
If you have fallen in love with your best friend, pretending that none of this has happened and that the friendship will continue to be the same as it has been until now is not realistic In fact, it can affect both positively and negatively the affection that you and your friend have for each other, so it is always better to be honest with yourself and with the other person.
Communication and expression of feelings can help manage the relationship from now on and direct it with maturity. In addition, it will prevent the frustration of not turning that friendship relationship into something more from causing you to associate that bond with an unpleasant experience, which makes you suffer, and by extension you end up behaving unfairly with that person.
4. Respect their decision
Telling your friend that you feel more than friendship is a brave decision, but their reaction does not depend on you If he decides to be with you and give you a chance to start a romantic relationship, it will surely be one of the most incredible days of your life.
But this idyllic situation does not always happen, and it may happen that your friend does not feel the same way about you. Faced with this, you must respect his decision and continue with your life. That does not mean losing the friendship, but you will have to adapt to the new situation even if that includes taking distance for a while. You can read the article “How to forget an impossible love, in 5 steps” to know what to do in this case.
5. If you need it, go to therapy
The psychologist’s office can be a place where you find many emotional management tools that you need. Remember that to go to psychotherapy you do not need to have developed a mental disorder.
