Am I In Love?

Could It Be I'm Falling In Love?
You see that handsome guy from across the crowded room. You make eye contact. You engage in conversation. You hit it off. Suddenly, you're on the phone half the night, getting to know each other. It's a whirlwind courtship of several dates, and before you know it, you'd swear you're in love. After all, what else could explain your racing heart, feelings of euphoria and burning desire to spend every waking moment with this special someone?

Not so fast, says Dr. Kirschner. It's just physical. While there are some signs that you may actually be falling in love, it's important to look at the big picture. After all, it may just be lust or even a serious case of like.

"When you're in love, what you have is a sense of being with your best friend with chemistry," Dr. Kirschner explains. "It's a relationship that is good for you and helps your self esteem. It helps you best the best that you can be. You have periods of euphoria, this really blissful romance where everything is perfect. Your partner is perfect. You are perfect for the moment. The sex is very good or you're working on making it very good. That's the healthy state of being in love."

The Look of Love
Dr. Kirschner spells out the signs of true love with this list that will help you decide if Cupid has put an arrow through your heart.

• You're eager to see each other
• You're reluctant to leave each other
• You want regular consistent contact with each other
• You're interested in each other's lives
• You want to be helpful
• You're verbally and physically affectionate
• You text, email or call regularly
• You feel like the other person is special and you don't really want to date other people
• You're becoming more attentive and loving over time
• You're becoming more open to sharing feelings and thoughts
• You're becoming more open to sharing your living spaces
• You're becoming more open to sharing social life with family members and friends
• You're using the "L" word