Behaving in a controlling manner with the person you love. Feeling extreme jealousy of other relationships the person you love might have with other people. Feeling overly protective of the person you love. Becoming so overwhelmed with emotions about a person that it disrupts your daily functioning.
This refers to an obsessive love style. These individuals tend to be emotionally dependent and to need fairly constant reassurance in a relationship. Someone with this love style is likely to experience peaks of joy and troughs of sorrow, depending on the extent to which their partner can accommodate their needs.
Trauma or experiences in childhood that lead to an insecure attachment style may lead to fear of abandonment. People with a fear of abandonment may develop obsessive tendencies. People may be fearful to be alone and they may make threats or take impulsive actions in order to prevent a partner from leaving.
In general, some signs that love is obsessive include: an intense preoccupation with the relationship that is disproportionate to its length. immediately falling “in love” with new partners, or even with strangers. extreme attempts to control the other person.
Love is a feeling when a person wants the best for the one he loves, and always wants them to be happy, even if they are not part of his life. On the other hand, obsession is a crazy feeling where the person wants the other to be his or her's only.
An obsessive person will rush you into things in a relationship, expect constant validation and are over-possessive. A person who's in love with you will respect your boundaries and make an effort to keep you happy.
Since obsessive love disorder is not classified as a mental health condition, it is hard for it to have an identifiable cause. However, it has been linked to other mental health disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and borderline personality disorder.
Sadly, an obsession can last for years without proper healing or distance. As previously explained, if the brain has a steady source of those love chemicals, it will keep coming back for more just like with any drug.
Violating the Person's Privacy & Boundaries
This may include a perceived need to read the other person's texts, go through their things, or even stalk and harass them. Jealous delusions and obsessive love are especially dangerous when combined because they're closely linked with assault, abuse, and violent crime.
Obsession with another person often stems from a lack of self-esteem or an anxious attachment style. However, you may be able to reduce this obsession through a few steps. Are You Struggling To Move On From A Crush?
That sense of love turns into an obsession, and sometimes you start to view the person you love as more of an object you possess than an independent human being. While obsessive love disorder isn't an official diagnosis, what you're experiencing is real and has the potential to impact your relationships.
In 1979, Dorothy Tennov coined the term “limerence” for the first stage of love, characterized by physical symptoms (flushing, trembling, palpitations), excitement, intrusive thinking, obsession, fantasy, sexual excitement, and the fear of rejection.
We become obsessed with certain people because we have fundamental neural systems that drive us into a state of infatuation, and these can be overactivated at times in our lives when we are vulnerable to the romantic potential of a person who matches our subconscious template of a desirable mate.
Being romantically rejected can be a familiar feeling that mirrors one's childhood, leading that person to seek out more of the same. People with a history of rejection may sometimes subconsciously seek out similar scenarios, hoping that the story will have a different ending.
Obsessive love disorder can be treated. You can take anti-anxiety medications like Valium and Xanax, antidepressants like Prozac, Paxil, or Zoloft, antipsychotics, and mood stabilizers.
However, it's important to differentiate between love vs. obsession. Love involves caring for and wanting the best for the person, while obsession is driven by possessiveness and controlling behavior. It's crucial to maintain a healthy balance and recognize the signs when obsession crosses a line.
Obsession is a feeling of intense infatuation while love is a feeling of strong affection. Someone who is obsessed often has a need for constant contact, acts possessive, and ignores their partner's boundaries.
The difference between healthy and obsessive love is that with the latter, those feelings of infatuation become extreme, expanding to the point of becoming obsessions. Obsessive love and jealousy that is delusional is a symptom of mental-health problems and is a symptom that occurs in about 0.1% of adults.
Emophilia is defined by a tendency to fall in love quickly and often, which is associated with rapid romantic involvement. However, questions linger as to how it is different from anxious attachment, which also predicts rapid romantic involvement.
Difference between love and attachment
Love evokes fond feelings and actions toward the other person, particularly. Attachment is driven by how you feel about yourself with the degree of permanence and safety someone gives you, based on your past relationships.
Whereas infatuation tends to happen very quickly and involves a strong attraction, love is a much deeper experience of knowing someone fully, feeling bonded and close to them, and caring about them in a way that's both enduring and not centered around how they make you feel.
Infatuation is often a fantasy-based, passionate longing for someone else. It can prevent you from acknowledging their weaknesses, and may even land you in an unhealthy situation. Love is often based in reality and is fed on closeness and knowledge of the other person.