“Romantic attraction is an emotional response of one person towards another, which can be described as a yearning to admire and join with them,” says therapist Christa McCrorie, LICSW-PIP.
While romantic attraction is totally different for everybody, many individuals will expertise emotions of wanting to guard and supply for an additional particular person, wanting to maintain them cared for, having fun with their firm, and eager to tackle a job of duty in sustaining that particular person’s happiness, she notes.
Some individuals see their romantic orientation—that’s, how they expertise romantic attraction and for whom—as part of their identification separate from their sexual orientation. For instance, somebody could be homoromantic and bisexual, which implies they’re solely romantically interested in individuals who share their gender however they do expertise sexual attraction to individuals of multiple gender. Those who expertise little to no romantic attraction for others could also be known as aromantic.
Not all relationships want romantic attraction. However, in wholesome relationships the place romantic attraction is current, it serves as a power that pushes companions to constantly be intrigued and enthusiastic about one another with compassion, performing because the glue to maintain the connection related whilst companions and the setting inevitably change, says McCrorie.