Love Addiction

Love addiction is a human behavior in which people become addicted to the feeling of being in love. Love addicts can take on many different behaviors. Love addiction is common; however, most love addicts do not realize they are addicted to love. Love addiction treatment with various recovery techniques, most of which are similar to recovery from other addictions such as sex addiction and alcoholism, through group meetings and support groups. The normal process of falling into love addiction begins when a person begins to feel sympathy with another person after going through an initially innocent moment of attraction and automatically idealizes the other to the point of divinity. The individual is blindly attaches to the other person, becoming incapable of making a realistic analysis of the situation; they may project all kinds of illusions onto the other person, believing them to be the only one that can bring happiness. This process can be very quick. For some, this a brief experience that is only the first step toward a more mature relationship. There are, however, those who never go past this stage of blind love. Obsession can be the primary symptom of any addiction. In love addiction, the individual's insecurity gives rise to an obsessive attachment to the object of their affection. It typically manifests as an insatiable hunger that distorts the person's perception of reality and often results in various unhealthy behaviors and suffering. The typical love addict demonstrates the most predictable relational patterns for the majority of people who fall into addictive relationships. Repeatedly they become preoccupied and obsessed with attaining or keeping the perfect person, soul mate, Superman, or Wonder Woman who will make their lives meaningful and give them unconditional love with positive regard. In their obsession, fantasy, and denial they quickly fall into and become infatuated in relationships. Essentially their identity is only through their relationship with their partner. Because of impaired boundaries, they are in constant pursuit of merging with their partner; therefore, they become overly dependent clingy and smother their partners. They take all focus off themselves escaping while throwing themselves into their partner's life. They try to earn love and attention that will avoid abandonment and being alone. Romantic love addicts are romance junkies and relationship hoppers. They compulsively hop from one infatuated relationship to another in an attempt to keep their supply dependency or addiction going. Initially they often believe they are in love with a person they start a relationship with, but they do not truly fall in love. Romantic love addicts are addicted to the fantasy created in their minds and have false hopes unrealistic expectation that one day they will find the right one who somehow will keep the rush, passion, and intensity going all the time—an impossible task for anyone. The sex and love addict displays the uniform patterns of the typical love addict, but the additional characteristic is the sex and love addict type also is highly preoccupied with sex and sexual fantasies with only one particular person, usually a romantic partner. They are not in love with their partner so much as they are in love with the sexual acts with their partner. The sex and love addict rarely seeks sex outside of a romantic relationship unlike the pure sex addict. The sexual obsession with one partner becomes a significant driving force for staying in a relationship. Like most love addicts, they will tolerate misery and pain in a relationship; however, they do it solely for maintaining sexual intimacy with that one person.

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