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submitted 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) by throwawaysalami@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

I think I got a crush on my dance instructor. Which fucking sucks for all the obvious reasons. Normally I wouldn't be so worried. BUT I JUST HAD A GODDAMN ROMANTIC DREAM ABOUT HER. Seriously I just woke up from a dream about her confessing her love to me and me eagerly doing the same about her.

So how do you stop a crush from developing further? Because this is a well from which only disappointment may be drawn.

Edit: I am single btw.

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[-] andrewrgross@slrpnk.net 101 points 10 months ago

Try actively steering your fantasy past the peak of infatuation and into the latter stages of a relationship and on to breakup.

Right now, you have intrusive thoughts about falling in love with them, and probably the excitement of getting to know someone intimately. Instead of trying to hold back, let that fantasy play out in your head further. Imagine moving in, imagine them not getting you when you're explaining your problems. Imagine liking them, but finding their bad habits increasingly intolerable, and never being able to pick a movie to watch. Imagine them not flushing the toilet and clogging the shower drain with hair. And then imagine meeting someone new, and feeling guilty about crushing had on them. Imagine this new person reciprocates, and imagine politely explaining to your dance instructor that you guys can stay friends but, the romance has run it's course.

And there you are. The itch is scratched, and in your mind they're just a friend again.

[-] throwawaysalami@lemmy.world 38 points 10 months ago

Holy shit, you're a mad genius! Definitely gonna try this! thanks!

[-] sbv@sh.itjust.works 27 points 10 months ago

I'm 90% sure your instructor is a compulsive nose picker.

[-] gilokee@lemmy.world 8 points 10 months ago
[-] WeLoveCastingSpellz@lemmy.dbzer0.com 14 points 10 months ago

I heard that your instructor uses windows (🤢)

[-] WhiteHawk@lemmy.world 15 points 10 months ago

How else would they get fresh air in their room?

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[-] Bakachu@lemmy.world 31 points 10 months ago

This totally works. Way back in middle school I had a pretty big crush on this guy. I was shy and there was just a trickle of his interest in me, posibly imaginary, but just enough to keep me miserable. One night had a pretty long dream about us going through a whole relationship with all the misunderstandings, arguments, and realizations that come with it. Woke up super refreshed, fulfilled, and ready to move on. About a year later he asked me out and I turned him down. Felt like it'd be going back to an ex or something.

[-] Bunnylux@lemmy.world 21 points 10 months ago

This made me sad to the core. What's the point of life

[-] andrewrgross@slrpnk.net 25 points 10 months ago

I'm sorry if I bummed you out! For what it's worth, I think you're misreading this!

This exercise isn't supposed to reflect an inevitability to relationships becoming unfulfilling. It's just a tool to recover the ability to see people in a balanced and realistic way instead of through the uncontrollably lens of puppy love.

I'm in a long term relationship, well past the point of early infatuation, and I can tell you that that feeling is replaced by a different kind of love that I enjoy just as much. Long term relationships shouldn't be scary, they're wonderful. But when you're smitten, simulating the evolution in how you feel about someone as you get to know them is just a way to remove the effects of a crush.

Don't be sad! Long term relationships with a person you like are wonderful.

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[-] RanchOnPancakes@lemmy.world 90 points 10 months ago

Shit your pants during dance class. All possibility is dead.

[-] safesyrup@feddit.ch 41 points 10 months ago

People have weird fetishes my man

[-] RootBeerGuy@discuss.tchncs.de 13 points 10 months ago

(ง ͡ʘ ͜ʖ ͡ʘ)ง

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[-] Usernameblankface@lemmy.world 63 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

In my experience, get to know the person, as a person. I see the crush as a separate entity from myself. The crush sees them as some unrealistic ideal superhuman, which falls apart when I take time to find out who the actual person is.

This assumes you have opportunities to casually chat without planning time specifically, or you can be in a regular part of group conversations.

[-] macattack@lemmy.world 27 points 10 months ago

Isn't getting to know someone better the exact same path you would take if you like them too?

[-] BrianTheeBiscuiteer@lemmy.world 6 points 10 months ago

Didn't hear any compelling reasons as to why an actual relationship would be bad. Having a relationship with an authority figure (teacher, doctor, therapist, etc) is taboo and often illegal, but if there's really a connection there it should be doable to change up schedules or find new instruction so there's no conflict anymore. Most of my crushes though have been very superficial and a few conversations dispelled the fantasy.

[-] throwawaysalami@lemmy.world 24 points 10 months ago

I see the crush as a separate entity from myself. The crush sees them as some unrealistic ideal superhuman, which falls apart when I take time to find out who the actual person is.

That's pretty damn well put.

This assumes you have opportunities to casually chat without planning time specifically, or you can be in a regular part of group conversations.

There is maybe a tiny window. But it's worth a shot.

[-] Rai@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

I had a crush and had this like, idea* of who they might be.

Got to know them more and more, and… they’re exactly the person my imagination fabricated.

Anyway, we’re married and shit now. I wish the same for every person with a crush.

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[-] retrieval4558@mander.xyz 57 points 10 months ago

Time. Crushes are naturally a temporary infatuation. They pass given time. Have fun with the fantasies, but I personally would not suggest trying to actually hit on her.

It's poor form to hit on people in their work places. If she initiates, that's one thing, but I wouldn't try anything otherwise.

[-] SendMePhotos@lemmy.world 20 points 10 months ago

To be fair, it would be unprofessional and in poor taste for the instructor to advance on a student/client.

[-] bleepbloopbleep@lemmy.world 47 points 10 months ago

Play Baldurs Gate 3 and crush hard on your companions.

[-] 65gmexl3@lemmy.world 10 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)
[-] june@lemmy.world 28 points 10 months ago

I’ve found that when I want to kill a crush I can start looking for characteristics I dislike. Everyone has them and early on in infatuation we gloss over them. But intentionally highlight them and that crush usually goes away pretty quick. Works for me anyway

[-] pete_the_cat@lemmy.world 7 points 10 months ago

She kicks puppies for fun and idolizes Hitler but God damn she's sexy.

[-] JigglySackles@lemmy.world 5 points 10 months ago

Really? Man, I always thought it was to study their routines and plan the murder for when they are most alone and have the site and a grave prepared. Ideally away from prying eyes unless you like the thrill of getting caught or whatever....

But that aside, this is really solid advice. Nitpicking things you don't like is a great option towards losing interest.

[-] fidodo@lemmy.world 25 points 10 months ago

Meet new people

[-] Paragone@lemmy.world 23 points 10 months ago

2 methods that I can think-of that might work, quickly enough for you:

  1. deliberately develop a crush on someone else, like Lena Headey, or someone, whom you are not going to meet weekly, and

  2. deliberately imagine her having total romancing with someone whom you both respect, value, & wouldn't violate-their-boundaries.

Obviously, combining these 2 methods would be stronger.

Salut, Namaste, & Kaizen

_ /\ _

[-] answersplease77@lemmy.world 18 points 10 months ago

Don't jerk off thinking about her

[-] Aremel@lemmy.world 15 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Full speed ahead, tell her how you feel. It can only end in two ways:

  1. Your dream becomes a premonition and you live happily ever after.

  2. She tells you she doesn't feel the same way and it ends there, awkwardly or not.

Speaking from experience. I had a crush on this one girl and I just couldn't get her out of my mind. I decided to do something about it and asked her out. She said no and that was the end of it.

Don't be afraid to be awkward.

Edit: If this truly is an impossible situation (you or the instructor are already in committed relationships) then I agree with everyone else telling you to find another instructor.

OR

Still do what I said but try to reconcile your feelings for her, with her. Also speaking from experience here. If she is a dance instructor, she is probably no stranger to having her pupils develop feelings for her.

[-] throwawaysalami@lemmy.world 11 points 10 months ago

If she is a dance instructor, she is probably no stranger to having her pupils develop feelings for her.

But this just makes it worse. Cause you're probably right. Which would make me feel even more like a schmuck. Yeah I think I'm just gonna go find a new instructor.

[-] SubArcticTundra@lemmy.ml 8 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Agreed. Coming out to a crush has never helped me personally as it was pretty evident they weren't showing as much interest in me as I had in them. For me, crushes have always happened when my exposure to the person was one-sided/parasocial (as seems to have been the case in your lesson). I have found that the most effective way to prevent this is to get to know people that excite you on a personal level before a crush can develop. This usually means enthusiastically trying to interact with them moment I notice them and abandoning them if it does not work out — instead of watching them for a while and then deciding whether to approach.

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[-] Chickenstalker@lemmy.world 13 points 10 months ago

Imagine her picking her nose and eating the booger. Next, imagine her taking a huge stinky steaming dump. Disclaimer: only works if you're not German.

[-] JadenSmith@sh.itjust.works 5 points 10 months ago

Or Cartman's mother.

[-] ani@endlesstalk.org 13 points 10 months ago

Tell her. Then she likely rejects your feelings, and you distance yourself from her to kill the feelings.

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[-] XEAL@lemm.ee 11 points 10 months ago

From my own experience: cut all contact with that person... which may not be viable in your situation.

[-] SnokenKeekaGuard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

I had a crush on a girl when I was 14, still do, It's been 10 years. Havent seen her or talked to her for 8. Can a hypnotist or someone help.

Its not a deep crush now, but I still think about her OFTEN and am not at all over it.

Edit: jeez i wonder what it'd be like to be on the recieving end of that lol.

[-] SubArcticTundra@lemmy.ml 4 points 10 months ago

Yeah, I've found that learned anxiety that my brain has around crushes from my past is one thing time does not heal.

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[-] throwawaysalami@lemmy.world 8 points 10 months ago

So it's either quit dancing or develop romantic feelings for her? Q.E.D. I'm fucked.

[-] scytale@lemm.ee 7 points 10 months ago

I mean, you can find a new dance instructor.

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[-] Asudox@lemmy.world 9 points 10 months ago

I'm pretty much the same as you. I just do my hobbys or play games and such. You slowly forget about her, trust me.

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[-] AlfredEinstein@lemmy.world 8 points 10 months ago

You and your dance instructor should hang out and take molly together.

[-] ThisIsMyLemmyLogin@lemmy.world 8 points 10 months ago

Shit yourself in front of her. You may need to prepare with laxative beforehand.

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[-] jeffw@lemmy.world 7 points 10 months ago
[-] macattack@lemmy.world 5 points 10 months ago

Simple yet effective. I think that there is something missing romantically in your life and those feelings won't go away because you bury them

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[-] Anticorp@lemmy.world 6 points 10 months ago

Are you single? If so, just go with it!

Are you in a monogamous relationship? If so, find a new dance instructor.

[-] throwawaysalami@lemmy.world 6 points 10 months ago

I'm single. But I think I'm still just gonna go find a new dance instructor if my crush on her won't settle down.

[-] GoodbyeBlueMonday@startrek.website 5 points 10 months ago

I saw your post the other day and didn't have anything constructive to add (my instinct was to say 'just see where it goes, but don't force it to be romantic', but I know so little about the situation that it's hollow advice), but I came across this article in the NY Times that might speak to your situation. It talks about limerence, which is a new word for me. I say might, because it might not be what you're feeling, but it's worth a read regardless, and the tips on how to overcome it in the article seem useful (and have backing by different researchers, so they're bound to have more material on the subject that would be potentially related to what you're going through).

Gift link so no paywall: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/27/style/limerence-addiction-love-crush.html?unlocked_article_code=1.RU0.qcHQ.OMOM2nOkSCqy&smid=url-share

[-] SubArcticTundra@lemmy.ml 4 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

One thing that has always helped me stop thinking a crush is when I've gotten another crush. I'm not sure this helps you much though lmao

I also used to get crushes on people I met who I was platonically excited about, if I thought about them too much. Lmk if this is you and I can go into more detail

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this post was submitted on 27 Jan 2024
171 points (94.3% liked)

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