Buzz
He’s absolutely magnetic, and you find yourself unable to resist. You like him, but the timing is off, or perhaps you sense it just isn’t meant to be. Now, you need to hide your affection, and it’s becoming increasingly difficult. Fortunately, there are numerous strategies to lower the chances that he or anyone else will notice, helping you successfully conceal your feelings for him.
Steps
Reducing Your Interaction with Him
Limit your conversations. When you're around someone you can’t let know about your feelings – it’s best to minimize any emotional connection by keeping talks brief and dull.
- Answer questions with short, straightforward replies.
- Avoid asking any unnecessary questions, especially those that touch on lighthearted or offbeat subjects.
- Stay away from topics that could spark mutual interest.
- As a general rule, don’t capture his attention by saying or doing things that are intriguing or engaging.
Limit your emotional and social availability. People tend to become more expressive around those they like. If you notice yourself becoming more animated or catching yourself nodding along excessively, take a deep breath and redirect your focus away from the conversation that’s pulling you in. Simply put, be less engaging.
- Monitor your own excitement. Don’t give away any signals that you’re interested.
- Don’t let your guard down with him. Sharing personal details, even about small things, will make it much harder to conceal your feelings.
Unfriend, unfollow, and unsubscribe. Let’s face it: with social media, people have become much more adept at keeping track of crushes they aren’t supposed to have. Stop fantasizing about someone you can’t even admit you like.
- Unfriend or unfollow him on Facebook.
- Stop following his Instagram. If you have feelings for him, viewing his selfies will only make things harder.
- Do the same on any other social media you both use. No need to torture yourself with a Snapchat of him having fun – it’s way too cute to bear.
Delete his phone number. Resist the urge to text, email, or call your crush, even if it's just to send a casual message. Get rid of his number and erase his email address. If you can’t delete it completely, make it more difficult for you to reach out to him.
- If you need to stay in contact for work or other non-romantic reasons, consider renaming his contact in your phone.
- For example, label him as “Your Boss” or “Jenny’s Boyfriend.”
Ensuring Your Nonverbal Cues Don’t Expose You
Keep your body language neutral. Certain body gestures can easily reveal your attraction to him, signaling your interest in a way that’s hard to miss.
- Cross your arms.
- Avoid presenting the front of your torso to him. You’re probably doing this unconsciously.
- Hold an object in front of your stomach to create a physical barrier.
Watch your hand gestures too. Just as body language speaks volumes, your hands can reveal a lot about your feelings without you even realizing it. Ensure your hand gestures don’t give away that you’re attracted to him.
- Avoid using your palms for touch. If you absolutely must engage in physical contact with your crush, keep it neutral and detached. Casual touches often scream that you're into them.
- Only use your fingertips when touching, as it’s less likely to expose your feelings.
- Stop rubbing your hands together. This nervous gesture can signal discomfort or anxiety.
- Keep your hands busy with ordinary, unremarkable activities to appear less interested.
- If you can't control yourself, simply hide your hands in your pockets or under the table.
Cut down on eye contact. If your gaze lingers longer than usual, he’ll almost immediately catch on to your attraction. Your eyes can betray you – from your pupils and blinking to the direction of your gaze, they can all reveal how you feel.
- Keep your eye contact short, professional, and impersonal.
- If needed, furrow your brow slightly to make it seem like you’re focusing on the topic at hand instead of admiring his good looks.
Be physically neutral. If you let your body relax too much around him, your physical cues will start sending messages you’d rather keep hidden. If you tilt your head when he talks or angle your body towards him, it's likely he and others can tell you have feelings for him.
- Constantly checking your phone is a great way to signal disinterest. He’ll notice you’re paying more attention to your phone than to him.
- Keep your neck hidden. Don’t stroke it or expose it, as it sends a subtle invitation and releases pheromones.
Controlling Your Mental Attraction
Accept that it's not meant to be. If you're trying to hide the fact that you like him, there's probably a reason why you can't act on your feelings. Maybe it’s clear he's not interested, or perhaps he’s off-limits for some reason. Whatever the case, remind yourself that it’s simply not possible.
- Talk to yourself out loud: “[Insert your name], this isn’t going to happen. Focus on something else.”
- Chances are, you’ll laugh at yourself – and that’s a good thing, since laughter can be distracting.
- If it’s unrequited love, it’s time to move on. It’s tough, but you’ll feel better much sooner than you think.
- It’s okay to stay friends, but don’t linger in the friend zone hoping that something will eventually happen.
Focus on someone else you're attracted to. Let's be honest: there are more than just one person in the world who catches your eye, and chances are, you have emotional feelings for more than one person. It might sound odd, but you can try to shift your affection by focusing on someone else, especially someone you already have a strong emotional connection with.
- Reader Poll: We surveyed 1019 Mytour readers who’ve dealt with crushes, and only 8% found success in talking to a trusted friend or mentor for support. [Take Poll] So, while this might not be the most effective method according to our readers, you could try meeting new people as a way to move forward.
Live your own life fully. Understand that you can’t control everything, especially other people. To help yourself move on from affection you can’t act on, shift your focus to other aspects of your life that bring you joy.
- Remind yourself of the paths you’re walking on in your own life that have nothing to do with your crush.
- Honor your own freedom – and his too. If you're hiding your feelings, respect the reasons behind it, regardless of what or who they are related to.
- Put your energy into things that you can influence, improve, and truly enjoy.
