I've gotten a number of emails over the years asking me to write an article on How to Know When You're In Love. I figured I'd finally get round to writing it, but before I list my top five signs, I'd like to first point out that loving someone and being in love with someone are not mutually exclusive terms. Everyone is different and these 5 Signs You're In Love may not apply to everyone who reads this. Generally speaking, however, if you're not sure, you're probably not in love. Speaking of, if you're actually trying to figure out if you're perhaps no longer in love with someone, you may want to read the 5 Signs You're Not In Love.

1. You're easily awed.

When you're in love with someone, they tend to appear far more interesting, clever and amazing that everyone else. They could recite a haiku they wrote in the 5th grade, and you'll want to immediately nominate them for a Pulitzer. Ok, maybe you're not that easily awed -- but it's generally very easy to be thoroughly impressed by someone you're full on in love with.

2. You fantasize about them constantly.

This doesn't necessarily have to mean that kind of fantasizing, but that kind of fantasizing is likely to feature somewhere in the mix. To distinguish between love and lust, however, you'll probably also need to be fantasizing about other things, as well. Romance, tenderness, that type of thing. If you're only thinking dirty thoughts, you're probably only in lust.

3. You get stupid.

When you're really affected by someone on this level, there is often a tendency to become a right idiot. Some people trip over their words, some people completely forget how to speak, some people blurt out strange things and then wonder what possessed them to do so. If you're not normally this absurd but suddenly turn into some geek from an 80s coming of age flick, you're probably in love.

4. You forget about everyone else.

Your mother, father, sister, best friend and work colleagues are wondering why you never have time for them anymore. You can't even spare 5 minutes to tell your best friend the naughty details of your romance, because that would take 5 minutes away from the person you're getting naughty with. If everything else fades into the background, you're probably in love.

5. Suddenly, the idea of marriage doesn't seem so smothering.

Notice I haven't said that you're making plans to get married, or that you're even considering it. This is more about the concept itself no longer seeming outrageous. If you're in love with someone, the idea of getting married doesn't feel so strange, even if you're far from being prepared to do it. This will apply to men as well as women. Contrary to popular belief, men don't really have any qualms about marriage when it involves someone they are truly in love with.