How to distinguish love from sympathy?

The spectrum of emotions that we can experience for people is diverse. Sometimes it is very difficult to understand how one’s feelings in relation to others, and, conversely, in the feelings of others to oneself. Some emotions are so similar to each other that they are not easy to define. In the article, we will try to explain the difference between sympathy and love.

With frequent interaction with people with whom it is pleasant and interesting to spend time, positive emotions and feelings often arise. In most cases, this is a manifestation of sympathy or love. Many people confuse these two concepts, mistakenly taking them for the same thing. However, professional psychologists say that these are two different feelings, between which there is a significant difference. To understand these sensations, you need to identify their main characteristics.

This sensation often appears as a response to a pleasant person. Sympathy often arises in the first minutes after meeting and chatting. This feeling is based on aspects that can be easily evaluated from the outside.

We are talking about such factors:

• attractive appearance of a person;
• stylish and fashionable clothes;
• special external features that people like;
• common hobbies and interests.

Sympathy is a kind of foundation for the further development of relations.

This is a stronger and settled feeling, which is characterized by a multifaceted emotional color. Love comes from sympathy.Psychologists call this feeling an emotional explosion that can occur suddenly and even shock the owner. Falling in love usually has a positive effect on personality changes.

When love occurs, the individual has a new goal - to attract attention and please the object of his desires. Under the influence of this feeling, a person is able to perform various acts, sometimes harsh and thoughtless. Representatives of the fair sex often change their appearance, creating, as they think, a more attractive image. All this is done to attract a partner.

Men and boys also change, but more in terms of character and behavior. They become a kind of defenders or knights, begin to patronize her in every way and protect her, like a princess or a beautiful lady from the world of dreams.

Despite positive emotions for another person, this is, in fact, a demanding and selfish feeling. Love is based on the desire to be loved by a particular person. One person uses the second to satisfy his own desires and needs.

People controlled by love constantly require each other to confirm their feelings. We are talking about gifts, dates, frequent communication and other manifestations proving love. If one of the partners tries to move away from this scheme or refuses to accept them, resentment and clarification of relations begin. In such a period of relations, a conflict can begin because of any trifle.

Love is based on pleasant emotions, but it does not give a person confidence in unconditional happiness. Under this sense of personality, emotional jumps are often experienced, while experiencing both pleasant and anxious sensations. In addition, an ongoing assessment of the behavior of his partner. The loving individual does not pursue the goal of giving, for him it is most important to receive. Moreover, more often there is no difference what nominal attention will be given if it is pleasant.

To summarize, we can say that sympathy is a feeling when you like the appearance, behavior and other characteristics of a person in sight. When falling in love, a person becomes demanding and needs his partner in order to constantly receive emotional and physical nourishment from him.

Each of the above feelings has its own specific signs. Some of them are common. When falling in love and sympathy, partners prefer to talk about themselves, whether it is information about success, personal interests or everyday affairs. When moving to the stage of love, people go into demand mode. Constantly receiving something from a partner, they nourish their sensation.

With sympathy, everything is much simpler. This feeling can be felt even when there is no communication between partners, and also if it is minimized. Gestures, smiles, short dialogs and other interaction options can indicate the presence of a positive feeling. Sympathy can last a long time - until it develops into a stronger feeling.

Love is often called ordinary affection. In this case, one of the partners needs constant attention from the other person. At the same time, gifts, dates and other manifestations of feelings are not mandatory, the main thing is to be near.

As noted above, there is a significant difference between the two feelings described above. Sometimes it is even difficult for an individual to distinguish emotions and understand how he really feels. Both sympathy and love can obscure a person’s mind.

Falling in love differs from simple liking in the following ways.

• If only pleasant communication with a person is enough to feel comfortable, this is ordinary sympathy.
• And when you want to constantly receive signs of attention from a person and be near as far as possible - this is love. There is a pronounced desire for physical interaction. Despite some cynicism and selfishness, the presence of these emotions can inspire and inspire. There is a strong desire to rejoice and share this feeling with others.

Falling in love includes some intimacy and sexual background, and sympathy can be just friendly. Strong and strong love begins with sincere sympathy. The main thing is that the feelings be true, and the partners have a desire to further develop relations.

As already mentioned, mutual sympathy tends to develop into a more serious relationship. First, she becomes in love, and then - in love. In some cases, sympathy between partners develops into friendship, stopping at this stage either by mutual desire, or by the desire of one of them.

Development to love and a full-fledged relationship is possible only when both people try to maintain and develop the relationship. However, there are cases when one of them is in love, and the second just continues to be friends. Such a relationship does not lead to anything good. Sooner or later, both people will face great disappointment.

To avoid such a situation, it is necessary to clarify the relationship and prioritize. Not to make mistakes in relationships will help a professional psychologist. And you also need to try to always look soberly at the relationship, not succumb completely to emotions.

Both partners, between whom a new relationship has emerged, must pinpoint the emotions and their causes. Regardless of what drives these emotions - a desire for intimacy, a strong spiritual connection or the usual lack of communication.

Having considered what one and the second feeling means, we can safely say that sympathy can go to the next level and develop into love. This happens in most cases. For successful development of events, both people must know exactly what they want from each other. As soon as the desire to receive constantly passes into the desire to give, you can talk about love. A strong feeling that differs from the two previous ones is much more multifaceted and has a great impact on a person.

Some people, being under strong impressions, decide to confess their love to their partner. In this case, not receiving a positive response, do not get upset ahead of time. Perhaps the second person is now in the stage of falling in love, which after a certain time will develop into full-fledged love.

The sphere of human relations is a rather complex and diverse field. With the interaction of two personalities, any development of events is possible.

You can see the main differences between true love and falling in love in the next video.