A crush is an intense and often fleeting infatuation with someone. Whether it’s the person you see at work, a neighbor or your childhood sweetheart, you can’t help but think about them all the time. Sometimes, a crush blossoms into a romance and other times it ends up being unrequited—either way, a crushing can teach you a lot about yourself.
A crushed can lead to feelings of jealousy and insecurity. It can also disrupt your daily life by keeping you from sleeping or going to the gym and making you miss out on social engagements, so it’s important to find a healthy way to deal with these feelings. Try journaling or listening to Taylor Swift on repeat to help you process your emotions and detach yourself from the person you’re crushing on.
Having a crush is not just painful but also detrimental to your health, according to research published in the journal Psychotherapy. The study surveyed more than 1,500 people and found that having a crush can affect your emotional stability, increase your risk of depression and anxiety, lower self-esteem, and lead to negative relationships with friends and family members.
The researchers found that people with a crush had more negative moods and thoughts, including guilt and low self-esteem, than those who didn’t have a crush. They also tended to experience more relationship problems and have more sexual difficulties in their current relationships. The authors suggest that these negative effects are a result of having to suppress one’s natural instincts and behaviors in order to avoid the pain of an unfulfilled crush.
In the study, participants reported that their crushes had mainly positive individual benefits, such as excitement and increased self-esteem, but had no benefits for their primary relationship. However, they also noted that having a crush provides material for fantasy and escape.
Another meaning of the word crush is to squish something so hard that it loses its shape and breaks into pieces. For example, if you crush the cans in your recycling bin, you’re pressing them so hard that they lose their shape and break into pieces. The term can also refer to a feeling, like when you have a crush on your coworker and it causes you to lose focus on your work.
A crush can feel like a drug. You think about them all the time, even when you’re not with them. You obsess over their every move and text message. And when they decide to make a change, such as changing their hairstyle or switching jobs, you panic and can’t accept it. It’s like your world has been turned upside down and you’re not sure how to cope. But if you want to survive the turmoil, take it one step at a time and try not to compare it to your relationship with your partner. This will prevent you from taking on too many negative feelings and avoid the “what ifs.” Then, once you’re ready, you can let go of your crush without putting yourself through the pain of an unfulfilled romance.