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 else, 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, friendship becomes more complicated.
Being in love with your best friend can become a complex situation, which often 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 smooth running of the relationship in the future, whether as friends or as a couple.
- Related article: "The 14 types of couples: how is your relationship?"
A lot to gain and a lot to lose
There are many stories of friendship that have been 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 couple 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 there to be feelings of friendship between two people of the opposite sex who have learned to love each other as brothers without being family. And it is that when a true friend (of the opposite sex) connects deeply with us and our needs, something more than a simple friendship can arise.
In these cases, the question arises whether it is worth risking everything and losing that person so important to us.
Can there be friendship between a man and a woman (heterosexuals)?
Our friends can give us great joys, that's why it's said that "whoever has a friend, has a treasure". In fact, we all decide who is part of our circle of friends, because friends are the family that one chooses to live a full life.
Finding that person with whom to share our good moments and our sorrows, with whom we can undress our soul and understand and accept us 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 recurrent questions can appear: Is friendship between a woman and a man possible? Undoubtedly, yes! But sometimes this close friendship can become a great challenge, and there can be a barrier more than exciting and, in turn, frightening that faces 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 because of the fear of losing the love of this person so important to us.
In this sense, if we want to maintain the affection with our friend, it is necessary to detect if what we feel towards this or this one is friendship or, instead, we have developed feelings of attraction and falling in love. But, What are these signs?
1. You do not treat him like other friends
When you want your friend to be your partner, you behave differently than you would if you were a friend. And is that falling in love changes your behavior . For example, it may now hurt when your friend tells you about his romances, something that did not happen before.
2. You care more than other friends
Almost without realizing it, the person who was your friend has become your priority . It has become a very important part of your life and you care about its happiness almost as if it were yours.
3. You are impatient to see that person
Seeing your friend as something else makes you want to spend a lot of time with him or her, that you have a great need to see him / her at all times.
4. You want to melt in your arms
Surely you have many friends of the opposite sex, but you would not melt in everyone's arms in the same way you would with your special friend . The hugs of this person that you consider unique make you feel something magical, something that nobody else makes you feel.
5. It attracts you
An unmistakable sign that your friend is no longer just your friend is that he or she is attracted to you and you want to have intimate moments with him or her. Surely you want to be alone with your friend, in order to connect emotionally.
6. You think about that person all day
It has stolen your thoughts, it has hijacked your attention and is now present in your mind for much of the day . That's why you write for WhatsApp at all times and you 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 experience, as long as the other person feels the same towards us.Otherwise, we can suffer from unrequited love, which can affect our self-esteem and cause us frustration and anxiety, among other psychological symptoms.
This situation is especially delicate if 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 much-loved friendship at risk, so it is logical that doubts arise about whether we should tell them or silence this immense feeling. So, what should we do if this happens to us?
1. Be aware of this and accept the situation
When we fall in love with our best friend there is no use running away from this feeling and repressing it , because in one way or another we 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 a certain frequency.
2. Observe how he behaves with you
When you know what you feel towards your best friend, you can observe their behavior to know if they really feel the same for you . This can help you to accept the situation that is coming, to reflect on what is happening and to make a decision about 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, pretend that none of this has happened and that friendship will remain the same as it is not realistic until now . In fact, it can affect both positively and negatively the love that you and your friend have for you, so it is always better to be honest with yourself and with the other person. Communication and the expression of feelings can help to manage the relationship from now on and to direct it with maturity.
4. Respect your decision
Telling your friend that you feel more than a friendship is a brave decision, but his 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 is not always fulfilled, and it may happen that your friend does not feel the same for you. Faced with this, you must respect your decision and continue with your life. That does not mean losing friendship, but you should 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.
