6 Stages of Having a Crush

Channel: Psych2Go
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpkP6BZIFDE

The channel's six-stage model of the emotional arc of a crush, from first spark to either falling in love or falling out of it.

Key points

• 1. Interest: intrigue on meeting someone; can be instant or slow, and with a long-known friend people often deny the feeling before accepting it.
• 2. Curiosity: wanting to learn everything about them; often done by browsing their social media when too nervous to ask directly.
• 3. Infatuation: framed as the best part -- butterflies, the world seeming brighter, idealizing them, a text "making your day."
• 4. Sharing: telling friends and seeking their advice and support; their outside perspective starts surfacing the crush's flaws and where things are headed.
• 5. Falling in love: the crush deepens into something realistic -- you stop putting them on a pedestal and see them as they are; if mutual, a relationship begins.
• 6. Falling out of love: alternatively, reflection (their flaws, or little chance of reciprocation) ends the crush -- painful, but ultimately a sign they were not right for you.

Note: the video states up front there is no definitive theory of crushes and that these six stages are the channel's own framing, not established science.