20 surprising reasons why you miss someone you barely know

It’s often said that absence makes the heart grow fonder, but does it count when you barely know the person who’s absent?

The weird thing is, these feelings of missing a person may last much longer than they would with those we are close to. So what’s going on there?

We’ve compiled this post to shed light on the subject and revealed 20 surprising reasons why you miss someone you barely know.

So let’s jump right in and get into it!

1) You feel an immediate attraction

Sometimes when you meet someone and feel an immediate connection with them, that person just has an “it” factor about them and it’s hard to not miss them.

It’s not uncommon to feel an immediate attraction to someone you barely know and, in fact, having that kind of initial chemistry with a stranger is a pretty good sign that the feelings will be mutual.

There’s just something about striking a chord with another person and it’s like your heart and mind just click.

The best way I can describe it is almost as if you have an unspoken understanding of some kind with each other.

With that said, with such deep feelings of attraction, it’s pretty common to miss them, even if you barely know them.

The feeling of attraction is like a drug and its euphoria can’t be understated. It’s also a feeling that can be hard to recreate.

2) You connect on an intellectual level

Have you ever met someone who just completely vibed with you? Like, they just got you and were completely tuned in to your frequency.

I’ve been lucky enough to personally have this experience and it was a life-changing moment.

Sometimes people connect on a deeply intellectual level when they first meet, and sometimes that connection is so strong it makes missing them very hard to avoid.

Philosophical conversations are extremely satisfying and stimulating, and it’s easy to connect with another person who shares your way of thinking.

Maybe you feel like most people just don’t get you, and that they can’t possibly understand you the way you do.

Sometimes (maybe most of the time?) that’s true, but when it comes to people we barely know, often it feels like we understand them better than anyone else (and vice versa.)

3) You lack that special someone in your life

I know this feeling all too well.

Feeling lonely and not having anyone to love or talk to is a feeling many of us have tried to run away from, but often become more familiar with as we get older, too.

We long for that special someone in our lives who can be our closest companion, who understands us on an intimate level and loves us completely.

The brutal truth…

You could be surrounded by people but still, feel completely and utterly alone. In fact, you could be in a relationship or even married and still feel a massive lonely void in the depths of your soul.

So with that said, you might be missing someone who you barely know because you are yearning for something.

Be it a quality, a characteristic, or a certain trait, sometimes we might be missing someone because they have something we desperately crave or need in our lives.

It could be that they make you feel even more alive or connected to the world. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “It takes one to know one” and that’s true…a lot of the time!

Maybe you are missing them because they do things you wish you did or had the guts to try yourself.

4) You can’t stop thinking about how you would be a perfect fit for each other

When you are attracted to someone, your mind can start to imagine how great it would be to be with this person. You might have thoughts like “We have so much in common.” or “I could really see a future with them.”

You may think that they are so similar to you that you could easily become friends, or find out what happens next and where this could lead.

You want to know what they are feeling and what they think of you. You wonder if they are feeling the same attraction you feel.

And who knows, maybe these feelings lead to being close to each other and is the reason why you miss them.

5) They touched you in a way that made you feel important

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you make them feel” – Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou summed it up perfectly in her quote. If someone you barely know does something that really brightens your day or makes you feel better, it can give them special status in your mind.

You might feel grateful and thankful that this person took the time to pay it forward and be a positive force.

Even if you know the compliment is “just being nice,” it might still lift your spirits or make you feel good.

It could be their tone of voice or something they said that makes you feel connected or understood somehow.

They could have said just the right thing at just the right time that made you feel warm inside.

The point is, that remembering how they made you feel might be the reason you’re missing them.

6) You feel like you have missing puzzle pieces that they could provide

Everyone has parts of themselves that don’t quite fit the way they want them to.

For example, maybe you are close to your family but feel a little bit too different from them, or not as close as you would like.

Maybe you were in a romantic relationship for many years but it just didn’t quite work out… and you have always wanted to have your best friend/sister/brother/etc. as your partner.

Maybe you were seeking emotional support, understanding, and compassion, or companionship. You might want to feel more like a part of the group.

If someone just happens to fit into one of these “puzzle pieces” in your life, it can start to make you feel a little bit closer or connected to them.

You may start thinking about them more often because you think they could give you some missing piece in your life… maybe even fill the void.

I mentioned earlier how the help of a gifted advisor can reveal the truth about what it means to miss someone you barely know.

You could analyze the signs until you reach the conclusion you’re looking for, but getting guidance from someone with extra intuition will give you real clarity on the situation.

I know from experience how helpful it can be. When I was going through a similar problem to you, they gave me the guidance I sorely needed.

Click here to get your own love reading.

7) You feel lonely

This one is kind of like #4, but I wanted to break this out into a separate point.

I’ve been there, I’ve had moments when I’ve felt like I have no one special to share my life with like no one sees who I am and understands me.

And at that moment I started reminiscing about an acquaintance that really made me feel like I belonged.

Even though I didn’t really know them that well I still felt somehow connected, kinda like we were kindred spirits.

We had some similar interests and passions but were different in other ways too. My heart was telling me that they would have been a good person to have in my life had they stayed around!

When you miss people that you barely know it can lead to some attachment. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but sometimes it can be…

It’s hard to let go.

8) You want to help them

If someone comes into your life that seems like they need your help or emotional support, you might give it freely and enthusiastically.

You might think that you can be the one who changes their life, makes a difference in their day… or even saves them from whatever troubles they are facing.

Maybe you see them come into your place of business looking for a job or needing help. You can see how they are struggling – maybe this person is lost, broke, or injured.

You might think that if you extend yourself to help them that if you give them a chance, and if you are there for them now, they will be able to turn their lives around. They will realize how good things will get once they get their act together.

There’s something innately contagious about helping people and it leaves you feeling good. This can be a major influencer in why you miss them.

9) They are so much like you

This one can be a bit of an ego boost.

You see similarities between yourself and another person, and it makes you feel like you can relate to this person.

You think that you can’t wait to meet them so that you can be best friends or even more. You already feel like they are someone who understands you and what makes you happy.

They have something inside them that makes them seem like they could be a great friend, or even more.

Often we do this with people we can relate to, who are similar to us in some way – like going to the same church or school.

Maybe they are in the same line of work or do the same activity as you. Maybe they have kids your age, the same job title, or had an experience that you know how to support them with.

The point is, you’ve most likely encountered a person like this in your life and can be the reason why you’re missing someone you barely know.

10) You want to be a hero

You want to feel strong, powerful and in control – you want to be a hero. Or you might want to help someone who seems weak, helpless, or maybe even hopeless.

We all have a little bit of the “savior complex” inside of us – that desire to make someone better, or help them out of whatever rut they might be in.

Maybe they are hurting, or in trouble and they need rescuing. You want to swoop in and be their hero.

Maybe they have been through a bad break-up and need someone to reassure them that they are a strong and beautiful person. Or maybe they are having trouble finding work and you want to help out.

Maybe there is some part of them that reminds you of yourself at one point in your life when you were hurting or struggling too.

You might feel a deep sense of empathy and compassion which is another completely plausible reason for missing someone you barely know.

11) You feel like they could be the answer to your problems

This one is not necessarily a bad or good thing – it just is what it is.

You might feel that they have something inside of them that could solve all of your problems.

Maybe they could be the person who could change your life with the power of their words and actions. Maybe they are someone who had a similar experience or is in a similar situation as you.

The bottom line:

This person has clearly made an impact on you and is the reason why you’re missing them.

12) You want to help them become someone amazing.

This speaks again to the hero complex that some of us experience from time to time.l

This might be because you see them as someone who could be a better version of themselves, or could change their life for the better.

You may see a lot of potential in them that you think will help them develop into the person they want to be – and it would be nice if you helped bring out that potential.

Maybe they just need a little confidence, or to be guided, or to be encouraged. Maybe there is something about them that reminds you of yourself at some point in your life that you had a hard time – and if you could, you want to change your own life experience for them.

13) You have fantasies about them

This one is the mother of all the other reasons.

You have fantasies about them. This may or may not be a physical thing, or it could be something deeper inside.

You may be thinking about what they are like in your imagination, and how good it would feel to be with them and hold them close to you.

Maybe you have dreams of the sex and intimacy that you could share together. Perhaps you figure they are the one that is so different from anyone else you’ve ever met who could take your breath away and make your heart skip a beat.

We are all human, and we each have fantasies about almost any situation – and maybe that includes our unrequited love. (Unrequited love is a tough topic to talk about, so I am avoiding it here!)

So, to cut to the chase it’s another very plausible reason why you could be missing someone you barely know.

14) There is something different about them

Maybe they are not like everyone else, maybe they seem a little mysterious or awkward.

Maybe they have something so fascinating to offer that you cannot take your eyes off them – or perhaps they just seem so interesting, exciting, and different that you cannot help but want to connect with them.

They may have a unique way of being or saying things that makes you feel really attracted to them, like how they’re so confident and well-rounded.

You might not know exactly what it is, but you are drawn to them – and this is yet another reason why you can miss someone you barely even know!

15) You have a deep connection with their spirit

Are you a spiritual person and do you believe in reincarnation, twin flames, and possibly past lives?

I certainly do, and if you feel the same this could be another possible reason for missing someone you barely know.

There’s a good chance that your soul has recognized them and has prompted this feeling of missing someone that you barely know.

When it comes to souls realizing one another you could feel a deep spiritual connection to them – and a true sense of knowing that they are someone that you are meant to be with.

It may feel like you were with them in a past life, or some part of you is missing when you are not around them.

You feel like you have known them for some time, even though you have just met.

You can’t stop thinking about them, and all of a sudden everything in your life seems to make sense now that they are around.

16) You’re using them as a distraction

Do you ever wish you were someone else? Perhaps you’ve just had a really shitty day and it feels like the entire world is against you.

With that said…

You might be using them as a distraction to get your mind off of something.

There’s a lot going on in your life and you are not sure how to handle it.

You want to feel happy and excited (because you’re feeling the complete opposite) so you use this person as a distraction.

You might love them for their personality, or the way that they make you feel.

Maybe they are just there when you need someone, and that feeling is what attracts you to them – even if in many ways you don’t know them from Adam.

The point is in order to deflect the misery you’re feeling, you’re missing this person because of how they made you feel and you want to feel that again.

17) You have a deep belonging and connection

This is similar to the scenario I wrote about in point 16.

Maybe you have a deep belonging and connection to them because as a being they resonate with you.

You know that there is something about this person that you just can’t put your finger on.

There could be an entirely different world or reality in which this person just belongs and you have an insatiable sense that you simply cannot feel at peace until you see them or talk to them again.

You might even dream about them, or even feel like there is some kind of strange spiritual connection with them.

Point is, there are many reasons why you could miss someone you barely know because the two of you share a very deep and inexplicable connection to each other.

18) Something about them reminds you of someone or something in your life

It could be something as simple as the way they look, the things that they say and do, or the perfume they’re wearing that triggers you.

They just feel like someone you know, possibly a deceased loved one and their presence brings back fond memories of the person you lost.

This deep sense of longing for someone who’s no longer with you is another surprising reason why you can miss someone you barely know.

19) You’re afraid of being rejected or abandoned

You don’t want to risk getting close to them and have them reject you, which makes sense if you’ve been rejected before by someone else.

You’re afraid of getting close to them and having them reject you or leave you.

You don’t want to get hurt, which is why you are missing this person from afar.

Being the one who does the breaking up is so much easier than being the one who gets their heart broken.

People don’t want to get hurt, and so many of us have experienced rejection in some way. It’s easier for us to retreat back into our protective shells when we feel like we’ve been rejected in some shape or form.

And so, is a really surprising reason why you miss someone you barely know.

20) Daddy/Mommy Issues

The phrase daddy or mommy issues was coined to describe people who have complex, confusing, or dysfunctional relationships with the opposite sex.

Basically, it’s used to label people who project subconscious impulses toward the same sex onto someone else because you had an absent parent growing up.

It could be a way to preserve some kind of emotional purity for yourself if you feel like you long for them– but that’s a very complicated and personal thing, and a whole nother story!

What to do when you’re missing someone you barely know

If you’re missing someone you barely know, I have a few tips for you to try. These are things that I have tried myself and they’ve helped me out a lot.

1) Give yourself space to heal

As I said above, if you are missing someone you barely know it could be because of your past. You have a lot of unresolved issues with your past and you’re using this person to get closure from that.

Whatever issues there may be, it’s important for you to resolve them either on your own or with the help of someone else.

You need to repair your own self so that way you can fully heal and move forward in life.

2) Ask yourself why you’re missing them

You need to make sure that you ask yourself why you’re missing this person.

There could be some issues with the situation, and these issues are clouding your judgment. You need to get to the root of the problem and find out what’s wrong.

Sometimes we miss people for the same reasons that we love them.

You have to figure out why you loved them so much in the first place, and now that they are gone, you miss them and can’t let go like you thought you could.

3) Talk to someone about it

If this is something that is bothering you a lot then there is bound to be a way for you to talk to someone about it.

Maybe you’re embarrassed about the situation or maybe you just don’t want to talk to anyone about it because you don’t know how.

You’ll find that you’re not alone and no, you’re not going crazy nor are you losing your marbles because you miss someone you barely know.

Who knows and outside opinion might help you shed more light on the why.

4) Be honest with the person you’re missing

Even though you barely know them, you owe it to yourself to spill the beans and tell them.

Go directly to the source and see what happens.

Who knows, you might be pleasantly surprised and are probably feeling the same way as you! If so, then tell them.

5) Give yourself a reality check

You might be missing this person, but are you really missing them?

This can be a reality check for you to figure out whether or not what you’re feeling is real or just an imagined scenario in your head.