Are you in love? Or are you just friends? Sometimes, the lines between love and friendship can get blurry sometimes, and adding romantic feelings to the mix can make things even more complicated.
So, if you need some help figuring out where to draw the line in the sand between love and friendship, here are a few clear signs that tell you things between you and your friend are starting to become much more romantic than platonic.
Need more confirmation? Check out our video on the signs you’re more than just friends:
Writer: Chloe Avenasa
Script Editor: Vanessa Tao
Script Manager: Kelly Soong
VO: Amanda Silvera
Animator: Hannah Roldan
YouTube Manager: Cindy Cheong
References:
Guerrero, L. K., & Mongeau, P. A. (2008). On becoming “more than friends”: The transition from friendship to romantic relationship. Handbook of relationship initiation, 175-194.
Messman, S. J., Canary, D. J., & Hause, K. S. (2000). Motives to remain platonic, equity, and the use of maintenance strategies in opposite-sex friendships. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 17(1), 67-94.
Parks, M. R., & Floyd, K. (1996). Meanings for closeness and intimacy in friendship. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 13(1), 85-107.
Egland, K. L., Spitzberg, B. H., & Zormeier, M. M. (1996). Flirtation and conversational competence in cross‐sex platonic and romantic relationships. Communication Reports, 9(2), 105-117.
Hendrick, S. S., & Hendrick, C. (1993). Lovers as friends. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 10(3), 459-466.
Want To Eliminate Your Stress? Keep Reading
There is nothing to joke around with when it comes to managing the stress level in your life. The amount of stress that you endure has a direct impact on your health and overall well being. Pay close attention to the tips provided in this article for how to manage your stress.
Active meditation will nourish your spirit, improve your mood and help you find peace within yourself. Take the time to stop and clear the mind and deep breathe if only for a minute. It can reduce stress, lower your blood pressure and relax the body as well as the spirit.
If you’re feeling stressed, try going for a massage. Getting a nice massage is a great way to have the physical tension worked out of your body. If your body is less physically tense, your mind can be less mentally tense. Massages are a great way to relax and forget about the world.
When you are feeling down or stressed out, call your boyfriend or girlfriend and tell them how much you love them. This will put a smile on their face which will indirectly make you feel good about yourself. Call a loved one to maximize the way that you feel during the day.
A great tip that can help you beat stress is to plan a picnic with someone you care about. Going on a picnic is great because it allows you to be in nature, eat great food and spend some quality time with a special person. There is no better way to fight stress.
Take more vitamins. Vitamin B has been shown to help reduce stress. Try to take between 100 percent and 300 percent of the daily allowance. Minerals such as chromium, calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, molybdenum, zinc, manganese, and selenium also help you to better deal with stress. Stay away from vitamins labeled as stress relievers as they are usually just vitamin B.
Commit yourself to a hobby you love. Hobbies have the ability to take your mind off of the day’s stressors. Plus, many hobbies are also active in nature, making them doubly powerful in reducing stress. Quite a few people swear by the perspective that stepping back and partaking in a hobby gives them on their stressful tasks at hand. They often come back to the task with refreshed energy and even creative solutions that seemingly appeared out of the blue!
When it comes to dealing with stress, you should consider getting a pet. This is important because not only have pets been known to decrease your stress level but also the time that you spend caring and nurturing your pet will help to take your mind off of whatever it is that is causing your stress.
In order to deal with stress at work consider getting a stress ball. This is a great way to privately and quietly deal with your stress. The exertion used on a stress ball will at least help to deal with stress in a manner that allows both you and your co-workers to go about your day.
To reduce stress, one of the things that you can do is plan a hiking trip with your friends. This will be great for your body and give you the emotional reprieve that you need. Also, you will be out in the natural wilderness, which will provide very comforting scenery.
When there are a lot of issues on your mind, go out for a long night drive. Do not think about anything, just simply drive to clear your head. This is a great way for you to emotionally purge all of your troubles and help to put in focus what is important in your life.
When trying to get rid of stress, here is a very important and simple tip that many people seem to forget about. To easily combat stress, simply get a good night’s sleep. Sleep refreshes your mind and body and replenishes energy. Naps are also effective at doing this.
In every person’s life, there needs to be some kind of balance. Living a balanced life is important for stress reduction. Doing too much of one thing, such as work is an easy way to become stressed. Instead of focusing on only one thing, allocate your time and energy to multiple areas.
Develop a social network. Your social network can be the most important lifeline you have against stress. Sometimes all that you need to relieve stress is to have someone to talk to. Other times you might need someone to volunteer to take over one of the tasks that is overwhelming you. Well developed social networks provide for such needs.
A good tip that can help you keep your stress in check, is to remind yourself that other people have gone what you’ve gone through. Whatever difficult situation you’re in, there’s always someone who has gone through it and persevered. Telling yourself this, can be a great way to keep your stress down.
Try to surround yourself with an environment that is very comfortable. Sometimes, you will need to adjust the temperature in your home or apartment, as oppressive conditions can lead to increased levels of tension. Make sure that you feel at ease when you are at home to eliminate excess strain.
Take a hot bath with lavender oils. Lavender has relaxing properties, both in its smell and when directly in contact with sore muscles. Soaking in a hot bath with lavender oils will allow you some time to yourself in the warm water, which has its own soothing effects as well.
Think of a calm scene. Simply placing your thoughts on a calm beach or a cozy fireplace can be enough to destress a situation to make it more bearable. This works because it distracts your mind, but also because it helps you recreate the good feelings you feel about the relaxing scene.
In conclusion, it is extremely important to know how to best manage stress in your life. Hopefully the advice in this article will prove to be beneficial to you in how to not only identify but also reduce the amount of stress that you have in order to life a happier life.
Christopher Conway, the innovative mind behind “Love Blueprints,” is a seasoned relationship expert and author. His insightful guidance, drawn from years of experience and study, offers transformative strategies for modern love and dating. Christopher’s commitment to enhancing romantic connections has made “Love Blueprints” a go-to resource for those navigating the complexities of relationships.