Mental connections

Respected Sir,
i am an aspirant in path of self realization and abstinance.

i wish to ask about mental connections that one forms with person of opposite
gender without ever getting into physical realationship.

There is a girl in my batch with whom i have never talked but we both liked
each other from start and attaraction was really strong (that was before i started thinking
seriously about abstinance)

Even after 4 years we never talked but there seems to be some mental connection
that seemed to have formed and it feels like we are able to talk subconciously and
maybe this is what people refer to as 'astral tube'

My questions are:
1) Do such connections form out of some previous karmic debts or just intense attaraction?

2) Are mutual sexual thoughts and attaraction as bad as actual physical relationship?

[ I have already witnessed the barrier they pose in path of self realization and mental peace.
It feels like a responsibility/guilt to have created such connection in first place which cause suffering to both of us.]

and most important:
3) Is there any way to get out of such 'bandhans' particularly to dissolve those so called astral tubes ?
Also how can one prevent oneself from getting involved in further bandhans ?

Please forgive me if i wrote something wrong or outside my understanding but this is what i feel
and curious about .