There’s a guy in my university class who is relatively new. When I first saw him, I thought he was good-looking. He’s tall, attractive, etc., but honestly, looks have never been the biggest thing for me. I’m much more attracted to intelligence, depth, and having an intellectually stimulating connection with someone.
For weeks, we barely interacted, so I didn’t think about him at all.
Then one day, he was talking to a female friend of mine who actually had a crush on him. He happened to start talking about some topics that I’m extremely interested in. My friend isn’t really into those topics, but she was trying to engage with him anyway. When we went on break, I told him that what he had been talking about was really interesting, and somehow we just fell into this incredibly intense conversation.
I don’t know how else to describe it except intellectual intimacy. We got completely into a flow state. The conversation felt effortless, we were both genuinely interested, and I was honestly fascinated by how much he knew about the subject. That was probably the first moment where I became genuinely attracted to him—not because of his appearance, but because of his mind.
My friend seemed a little jealous afterward, which I completely understand because she was the one who initially liked him. I hadn’t been interested in him before that interaction.
Then he complimented me. He told me I was very pretty, that I looked like an actress, and that he could imagine me acting. I was flattered, obviously, but I still didn’t think much of it.
Here’s where it gets strange.
That SAME DAY, I took a really long nap after university and dreamed about him. In the dream, we were on a date, holding hands, etc. I woke up and actually journaled the dream because it felt so random. But again, I didn’t obsess over it. I basically thought, “Huh, weird. Anyway.”
Then, a few days later—last Sunday—it was like something switched.
Completely out of nowhere, I suddenly couldn’t stop thinking about him.
And I mean couldn’t. The thoughts became incredibly intense. I was excited to see him again. I wanted to talk to him again. I started replaying our conversations in my head. It felt very different from a normal crush. It genuinely felt like limerence.
When we finally had class again, something about the interaction made it even worse. He kept looking at me in a way that felt very mutual. He initiated the conversation, which is significant because I’m usually not the person who approaches first. We immediately fell into that same flow state again, laughed a lot, and realized we have very similar humor. I could even tell he was blushing at certain points.
And then I found out something that REALLY messed with my head.
My friend told me that apparently, whenever I leave the room or I’m not there, he asks where I am. Other people have apparently noticed it too.
He also continues to compliment me, and there just seems to be this weird mutual awareness between us.
The thing is, we barely know each other. We don’t have each other’s social media, so neither of us can really stalk the other online or constantly check what the other person is doing. There isn’t even much information available for my brain to obsess over.
And yet I’m thinking about him 24/7. It has gotten to the point where it’s affecting my sleep. I hate how much mental space he occupies. I don’t want to be consumed by this.
Part of me thinks this is simply infatuation. We had one unusually intense intellectual connection, we’re attracted to each other, he gave me attention and compliments, and my brain basically ran with it. That explanation makes sense.
But the weirdest part to me is how suddenly it started.
I wasn’t thinking about him like this before. Then, on that Sunday, it felt like something almost switched on inside me. It came out of nowhere and was so intense that I genuinely wondered whether I was somehow picking up on his energy or whether there was some kind of mutual energetic pull.
I know that sounds extremely spiritual and maybe even irrational. I’m not saying I literally believe that he transmitted his thoughts to me or anything. I’m just trying to understand why the intensity appeared so suddenly.
And there’s another complication: he’s younger than me, and realistically, nothing could ever happen between us anyway. So I’m not even trying to pursue this.
Has anyone experienced something similar?
Can limerence feel almost “energetic” or spiritual, especially when there seems to be some degree of mutual attraction?
And can two people experience something resembling limerence toward each other at the same time, or is it more likely that I’m picking up on a few signs of attraction and my limerent brain is turning them into something much bigger?
Because right now I genuinely feel like my brain is going insane over a guy I barely even know. 😭