venting about obsession

Hey, this is my first post on this forum, hoping im putting this in the correct area, sorry if im not.

its been a while but for the past like 4-5 years i have experienced phases of my life where i obsess over certain people (people i 'know' in real life) i say 'know' because sometimes they are people i have not spoken to. i have not spoken about this to anyone.

these phases last for a couple months (sometimes a year or so) and its weird because its almost unconsciously, i see them at certain places and instead of throwing away that information i keep it in the back of my head.

i also end up day-dreaming about them a ton, nothing too weird, but thinking about someone who doesnt know you exist is sorta weird enough. i have refused to say the word 'crush' because that is not what i am experiencing and i know that.

its like my brain treats certain people as characters for my own head and my brain making up plots only fuels them more as i see them for people who they arent, this is very weird and creepy but was hoping someone else has some sort of experience with this

(keep in mind due to other experiences and traumas my own perception of 'love' and 'crushes' are very tainted? i dont know the word but it isnt as clear as other people)