What To Do When You Catch "The Feels"

Photo by Adham Elsharkawi

It’s happening.

You’re finally kissing that kid that you’ve wanted to get with for months now. Either you’re just not into it at all, or holy shit... you’ve caught something. It’s that tingling sensation that runs from your head to your toes. It’s the feeling you had slow-dancing with your date at prom- a feeling that you’ve worked so hard to suppress. It can only be described as one thing. That’s right you’ve got a case of "the feels."

Here's the situation. You're kinda really into this guy but you don’t know if he likes you back, and you obviously don’t love him but you’ve definitely got feelings. Getting the feels is both exciting and scary. So, how do we approach this not-so-common situation? Honestly, your plan of action depends entirely upon you and what your heart desires. Do you catch the feels often? If so, are your feels really feels? Did you just get out of a super long relationship and aren’t really looking for something long term? How sure are you that he’s got the feels too? There are so many elements of the situation that are specific to you. But nonetheless, there are two of ways you can go about dealing with your newfound feels.

The cure for the feels is simply yet seriously chilling out. Refill your prescription of chill pills, sit back and observe before you make any kind of move. Of course you’re allowed to gush to your best friends about your feelings, but try and keep it under control. At the same time, don’t act uninterested entirely. You want to avoid seeming overly interested. No one wants a lovey-dovey-over-obsessive-chick breathing down their neck. If he’s got a case of the feels as well, you don’t want to ruin it by confirming the fact that you're a psycho. Sit back and see if there’s any action on his side. If there isn't, it can be disappointing, but you have to remind yourself that it’s his loss for not pursuing you because you’re (hopefully) awesome. If he makes a move and sober texts you, that’s great… you’re going somewhere. “Going somewhere” is exciting but make sure to keep your cool. Unless you're going to Tully's, then you can freak out.

The other cure for the feels is to be fearless, and is essentially the opposite of having chill. Be honest with the dude, you are more than allowed to ask him straight up if he likes you back. If he says yes, you automatically skip over the whole “I kinda like you but I don’t know how to show it” phase. If he says no, well... now you don’t have to have the feels anymore, and you can move on with your life with no regrets. Being fearless is ballsy, but it’s also the quickest way to end the awkwardness, and ultimately kill or accept your case of the feels with an actual answer. No hypotheticals.

You have two options: swallow your chill pill or embrace your new fearless lifestyle, because at the end of the day, you've gotta cure your feels. Assess the situation and make your moves strategically. You never know when your feels will turn into a relationship, or even a marriage. Just kidding about the marriage thing that probably won’t happen for a while, but the rules still apply. Be smart about your feels, kids.