Falling in Love: How Long Does It Take To Fall in Love?
Love can be defined as the development of strong feelings of attachment towards another person. The first hint of love may leave you caught up in a whirlwind of emotions and highs, but the amount of time it takes to develop a long-lasting, grounding love, is a process that will be unique to only you.
If love has been on your heart recently, then you’re in the right place. Read on to discover the signs of love you might experience, how men and women differ when it comes to revealing their hearts, and the differences between falling in love and being in love - and yes, they are very different!
How do you define ‘falling in love’?
When someone describes experiencing ‘love at first sight’, they are talking about the process of falling in love. If you’ve ever experienced love, then you’ll know that it can truly stop you in your tracks, right when you’re least expecting it. Those early stages of a relationship which feel exciting, fresh and new, is when physical attraction takes over our emotions, and we begin to experience feelings of love towards the other person.
The experience of falling in love will feel different for each person. During this stage of a relationship, you begin to learn about the other person, and start to reveal more of your emotional self too.
What are the signs of you falling in love?
Falling in love can be a beautiful, blissful experience, and equally, it can be filled with emotional chaos, as you find yourself over-analysing every little thing that occurs. The time it takes to fall in love will always differ for each person, but here are some signs that you may experience during the first stages of love:
You feel like a new person
You’ve lost focus and your priorities have changed
You start paying a lot of attention to your partner’s needs
You want to be physically close to them
You feel safe when you’re around them
You find yourself talking about them all the time
You want them to be happy
How does love affect the brain?
Lots of research has been done by scientists and clinical psychologists on how love affects the brain. Helen Fisher, an Anthropologist and expert in the field of love, worked with her research team to produce a groundbreaking study on the effect of love on the brain.
MRI scans were taken from 2500 college students who viewed photos of people who were special to them. These were then compared with scans taken of them while viewing photos of people who were acquaintances. The photos of the people that they loved caused the brain’s levels of dopamine to increase, which is the feel-good hormone.
This research also supported the hypothesis that when a person falls in love quickly, it affects the brain’s reward system, which is linked with pleasure and pain relief.
How long does it take for men to fall in love?
When it comes to how long it takes to fall in love, there are few differences between men and women. Many people believe that women are the first to fall in love, but it actually seems that men fall in love faster than women. According to a study in the journal of personality and social psychology, it takes an average of 97 days before men think about confessing their love for their partner.
How long does it take for women to fall in love?
In the same study, it was found that women who were confessing their love took approximately 149 days before they experienced romantic love. Whilst research shows that men are keen to declare their love, it seems that the women studied who fell in love were more cautious when it came to affairs of the heart.
Falling in love vs being in love
Each of us will experience different types of love. When a person is first falling in love, it can feel chaotic, exciting, and blinding. All focus is lost as they become infatuated and distracted by feelings of physical attraction towards the other person. There is very little control when a person is falling in love, it simply happens.
In this early stage of building a relationship, it’s common to want to be physically close to the other person as much as possible. This emotional rollercoaster of feelings can leave a person feeling ecstatic, filled with energy and on a high.
In contrast, being in love is quite different. It is much more grounding, certain, and unconditional. When a person is in love, it is not based on physical attraction, but instead, a deeper, true love towards someone, for who they are deep down. This type of love is a choice and takes courage.
Being in love is about strengthening a relationship and growing together. It has room for the whole person, and its consistency allows you to show your authentic self and to grow spiritually.
Find out more
The process of falling in love can be a confusing time. When we are spiritually grounded in who we are, we are more able to cope with the emotional highs and lows that come with falling in love. Working with a spiritual coach can support you in tuning into your heart and living from your truth, so that you can have the best possible experience when it comes to connecting with a romantic partner.
Get in touch today to book your free 30 minute consultation, and find out how working with Gareth will help you to make the process of falling in love feel effortless.