Why Do People Obsess About Other People They Don't Know?

Why Do People Obsess About Other People They Don't Know?

There is a woman who works twenty feet from me that I have started obsessing about. She is very attractive to me, but I have only been in a handful of conversations with her. We have always been friendly, but we don't have daily interactions.

I didn't tell anyone I felt this way. In fact, I even stopped thinking about her entirely in order to get my work done. This, I thought, was the best way for me to surpress my emotions. I felt that if I stopped thinking of this woman as "dating potential," I would get over her and be able to function at work.

Then, I decided to tell people at a party that I liked this woman, and everything has changed. Suddenly, I am getting people telling me to go for it and start socializing with her. Before, I had been doing my best to put her out of my mind. NOW, I cannot get her out of my head.

Why do some people see an attractive person and suddenly become so enamored and obsessed that it overwhelms them?