Crushes can be exhilarating, but they can also cause heartache when unrequited or unattainable. Learning how to get over a crush in a healthy manner is essential to preserve your emotional and mental well-being. Understanding the psychology behind crushes and applying strategies to manage your emotions will help you move forward.
At Uncover Mental Health Counseling, we understand how challenging it can be to let go of feelings, especially when your mind seems fixated on someone. If you’re finding it difficult to stop liking someone, our virtual therapy in NYC offers professional online counseling to help you regain control of your emotions — accessible anywhere in Manhattan and throughout New York State.
This guide will walk you through ten effective strategies for getting over a crush, grounded in expert advice, psychology, and therapeutic techniques.
1. Acknowledge and Accept Your Feelings
The first step in understanding how to get over a crush is acknowledging and accepting your emotions. Crushes evoke deep emotional responses, and it’s crucial to understand that these feelings are normal. You might feel embarrassed, frustrated, or even angry that you’re caught in a cycle of longing, but allowing yourself to feel these emotions is the first step toward healing.
Repressing your emotions can lead to additional stress, anxiety, or even depression. By acknowledging your feelings, you’re actively taking control of them — a vital step in the healing process.
Therapies such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focus on identifying and challenging negative thought patterns. If these emotions feel too overwhelming, consider reaching out for virtual anxiety therapy in NYC to help you shift away from unhealthy emotional attachments.
2. Focus on Yourself: Engage in Self-Care and Personal Development
Once you’ve acknowledged your feelings, turn your focus inward. Self-care is an essential part of learning how to stop liking someone. Instead of dwelling on your crush, channel that energy into personal growth.
Invest in activities that make you feel good about yourself — whether it’s starting a new hobby, exercising, or learning a new skill. These small shifts reinforce self-worth and emotional independence.
Through virtual therapy sessions, our Manhattan-based therapists can help you set goals and create actionable self-care routines aligned with your values.
3. Establish Healthy Boundaries
Constant contact with your crush — through texting, work, or social media — can make it hard to move on. Setting healthy boundaries creates emotional space for healing.
Mute, unfollow, or take a short break from your crush’s online presence if needed. Boundaries aren’t avoidance; they’re self-protection.
Therapists often use Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT) techniques to help you manage guilt or fear associated with creating distance. In online therapy, you can explore how to set those limits in healthy, sustainable ways.
4. Embrace Mindfulness and Meditation
Mindfulness helps you stay grounded when your thoughts start spiraling. By staying present, you can observe your emotions without letting them control you.
Practices like meditation, mindful breathing, or grounding exercises can help ease emotional intensity and reduce fixation on your crush.
Our NYC virtual therapists frequently integrate Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) to teach mindfulness techniques that promote emotional regulation and self-compassion.
5. Reduce Exposure to Emotional Triggers
Social media often keeps emotional wounds open. If seeing your crush’s posts or updates triggers sadness, try limiting your exposure or taking a short digital detox.
Avoiding familiar places tied to memories can also help you detach emotionally.
Therapy approaches like Prolonged Exposure Therapy help reduce emotional sensitivity to triggers. In virtual therapy, you can safely explore these techniques from the comfort of your home.
6. Talk to a Friend or Therapist
Bottling emotions intensifies them. Sharing your thoughts with a friend or talking to a therapist provides clarity and perspective.
A virtual therapist in NYC can help you process deeper emotional roots — such as attachment issues or self-worth struggles — in a private, supportive space.At Uncover Mental Health Counseling, our relationship therapy and depression therapy services are available entirely online for individuals across New York State.
7. Reframe Idealized Thoughts
Crushes often come with idealization — believing someone is perfect. Reframing helps you see your crush more realistically, easing emotional intensity.
CBT techniques can help you challenge distorted beliefs and bring your perspective back to reality.
Through online CBT sessions, our therapists guide you in separating fantasy from truth — empowering you to release attachment healthily.
8. Strengthen Your Other Relationships
Redirecting your emotional energy toward meaningful relationships is key. Spend time with family, reconnect with friends, or engage with supportive peers.
Healthy relationships remind you that your emotional fulfillment doesn’t hinge on one person.
If past experiences make connection difficult, relationship therapy online can help rebuild trust, self-esteem, and emotional resilience.
9. Keep a Journal to Track Your Emotions
Journaling helps process emotions constructively. Writing about your thoughts and experiences provides clarity and measurable progress over time.
If your emotions feel too intense, your therapist can integrate journaling therapy techniques into your virtual sessions to help structure emotional reflection.
10. Focus on the Future and Open Yourself to New Experiences
Moving on means shifting your focus forward — toward new goals, opportunities, and people. Set personal milestones, explore hobbies, or pursue career growth.
When ready, open yourself up to new relationships that align with your values and emotional needs.
Our online therapists for self-esteem and anxiety can help you rebuild confidence and stay focused on what’s next, not what’s lost.
Positive Steps Toward Moving On
Letting go of a crush is rarely easy, but every small step brings you closer to peace. Whether through mindfulness, self-care, or professional help, healing happens over time — with patience and compassion.
If you’re struggling to manage your emotions or feeling stuck, Uncover Mental Health Counseling offers virtual therapy for Manhattan professionals and students designed to help you process feelings and rediscover emotional balance.
Book an online appointment today to start your journey toward healing.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. Can virtual therapy really help me get over a crush?
Yes. Virtual therapy offers structured emotional support and evidence-based strategies like CBT or DBT — all accessible from your home. It’s particularly helpful if your crush triggers anxiety, obsessive thoughts, or low self-worth.
2. Is online therapy as effective as in-person therapy?
Absolutely. Research shows virtual therapy provides the same benefits as in-person sessions, especially for emotional management, relationship issues, and anxiety. It’s also ideal for busy Manhattan professionals and students.
3. What if my crush is someone I see regularly, like a coworker?
In this case, therapy can help you develop healthy boundaries and coping mechanisms to reduce emotional dependence and maintain professionalism.
4. How long does it take to get over a crush?
It varies. Some people move on in weeks, while others take longer. Working with a therapist can help you process emotions more effectively and shorten recovery time.
5. How can I start therapy if I live in New York?
You can schedule a virtual session with Uncover Mental Health Counseling from anywhere in New York State. We’ll match you with a therapist experienced in relationship challenges and emotional healing.
