If you’ve ever suddenly hit the brakes on a budding romance, you’re probably familiar with “the ick”. It’s that unshakeable cringe-inducing gut-feeling that rears its ugly head when you’re dating someone new, often for no meaningful reason.

To clarify, by “no meaningful reason” we mean there is definitely a reason (there always is), but it’s probably something like: seeing their face from a strange and disturbing angle; knowing they’ve owned crocs before; or worse, knowing they take mirror selfies. It’s reasoning that’s petty but still somehow deeply horrifying to you. The bottom line is that all of a sudden, you are repulsed.

While it sounds like an entirely undesirable feeling, much to the horror of many, the ick is currently trending on TikTok. Not only are users sharing their stories of catching it, but they’re also giving each other tips on how to induce the feeling. “I ghosted a guy once for licking an envelope”, one user shared. “Fortnite flossing,” commented another alongisde, “that weird tomato sauce stain around their mouth.”

As trivial as the trend may seem, the goal is (rather heartwarmingly) to help each other get over unhealthy crushes. All together now, “aw!”. In a spectacular show of emotional maturity, TikTok users have universally addressed the fact that many of us find ourselves putting our crushes on a pedestal in the early stages of a relationship. As such, many of the “icks” are just a means to showcase vulnerability and humanness, to help cut down the pressures of having a crush, and serve as an intentional reminder that our crushes are as human as we are.

Photos: Instagram and Unsplash