Are you addicted to love? For some people, being in love is like a drug—a high they constantly yearn for. Like a drug, being in love can elevate you to a pleasurable state of mind, and then bring you down—leaving you with feelings of pain and withdrawal. When you first fall in love, certain brain chemicals such as dopamine are released in your brain. After a period of time with your love partner, the chemicals will tend to go away. When this happens, you may find that you’re with someone who is totally wrong for you, even though you had great chemistry in the beginning.
Now it’s your turn: Take the Love Addiction Quiz and find out if you’re addicted to romantic love.
1. Do you think about your love partner all of the time?
2. Do you have a very strong longing for them when you’re not with them?
3. Do you feel dependent on them—you have to get multiple texts or calls from them to feel good about your day?
4. Do you have an intense fear that they will leave you or reject you?
5. Do you have physical symptoms when you think about your love mate, including shortness of breath, fast heart rate, and excessive sweating?
6. Do you focus so intently on your love partner that everything else, including your career, family, and friends, fades into the background?
7. Do you see only your partner’s good qualities and ignore (or don’t see) any of their bad traits?
If you scored 4 out of 7 on the quiz, you may be love-addicted. Although most romantic relationships begin with a honeymoon stage, in which most of the above elements are present, some people have these traits for a longer period of time (and more intensely) than others. In psychological terms, this is known as Limerence—a type of obsession or infatuation with a love partner that has some features often found in other forms of addiction (substance, gambling, etc.).
Although there is no formally recognized disorder known as "Love Addiction,” it is an interesting phenomena to examine, especially if you feel like you may have some or all of the traits described above. The good news is that there are remedies you can use to get yourself out of a love-obsessed mindset so you can have a balanced and healthy love relationship. Stay tuned to our next blog on “How to Cure Yourself of Love Addiction.”
Click here (put link) for more on ARE YOU ADDICTED TO LOVE? TAKE THE LOVE HIGH QUIZ.
