4 Signs Your Almost-Relationship Is Getting Serious, So Prepare To DTR

Sometimes it’s easy to pinpoint the exact moment a relationship went from casual to serious. When a moment of clarity made it obvious that the relationship was headed toward a commitment. However, it’s often not about any one defining moment, so much as a handful of baby steps and, perhaps even before you realize it, you’ve DTR’d. But what if you’re still in that grey area where you feel like you are ready to take things to the next level but you want to know if they are, too? That’s when signs your almost-relationship is finally getting serious can be both really helpful and oh-so-reassuring.

According to the experts, there are ways to tell if your situationship is quickly turning into a real relationship. Some of them are subtle and some of them are more obvious, but they all follow a similar theme of enmeshment; That increasingly your lives are intertwining, and all the walls are breaking down between you. That there is an ease and comfort as the two of you have grown closer. A sense of security. But what does that actually mean? Here are the signs that your relationship is getting serious and you need to decide if you’re ready to commit, according to the experts.

1. You are open and honest about your feelings with one another.

One of the earliest signs that your relationship is moving to the next level, Joshua Klapow Ph.D., clinical psychologist and host of The Kurre and Klapow Show, previously told Elite Daily, is that there is no longer any need to play coy about your feelings. "You can be very honest about your feelings for this person," said Klapow. That’s because this shows you have reached the point where you feel as though you can be vulnerable with one another in a way you couldn’t when things were more casual.

2. The subject of the future comes up naturally.

When a relationship is getting serious, it stops being solely about the present and starts looking toward the future. So, if someone you are dating starts talking about plans for the future that include you, then James Preece,dating expert and consultant for ModelClub.com, says that bodes well for the seriousness of your relationship. “If [they’re] serious about you, [they] won’t be afraid to talk about where things might be headed,” he previously told Elite Daily.

3. You’ve been through a fight but come out stronger in the end.

Having disagreements is normal in any relationship and, depending on how you navigate an argument, it can tell you a lot about where your relationship is headed. "Relationships are often easy and fun in the beginning. You want to navigate challenges together and know you can come out on the other side stronger," Dr. Rebekah Montgomery, a clinical psychologist specializing in relationships and helping couples prepare for marriage, previously told Elite Daily. "You want to know you can be vulnerable and share the deep, scary stuff with your partner and feel closer after." So, if you’ve weathered some disagreements and found they actually ended in a way that brought you two closer and made you feel safer to open up to one another, that’s a huge step toward taking the relationship to the next level.

4. You’ve invited each other into your respective inner circles.

If you and the person you are dating have started introducing each other to your close friends and maybe even family, NYC relationship expert Susan Winter says this is a clear sign that the relationship is getting serious. “Your public presentation is their way of ‘testing the waters’ by including you in their life," she says. "If your partner is bringing you into their inner circle, it’s a great indication that they want you to stick around in a more official capacity,” she previously explained to Elite Daily.

Making the leap from casual to serious is one of those things that feels huge before it happens, but totally natural once it does. That’s because it tends to happen slowly and then all at once. So, if you are in a relationship that feels like it’s on the cusp of becoming a committed one, it’s a great time to take a pause and ask what it is that your really want and what will make you happy. Once you know that, it’s just a matter of letting nature take its course.

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