Questions about Love vs. Addiction

The feeling of LOVE, or being “high” on love, can be a powerful drug. The “fix”, however, is another person, leading to an alteration of mood and a dependency on regaining or retaining that mood. The presence of the other person is not comforting through intimacy and connection, but rather for the ways in which he/she represents or symbolizes the internally held images and expectations of love, romance, and coupling.

Love addiction also occurs when sexual attraction, desire, and arousal is confused with intimacy and closeness. Often, this may be the result of unresolved attachment losses and fears of abandonment. In a culture that continues to reinforce simplified images of love and romance, glorifies self-destructive, intense, and risky relationship behaviors, and neglects the attachment need of children and adults, many people find themselves trapped in a spiral of unhealthy relationships or risky sexual encounters to sooth internal fears and loneliness, leading to lives of unrealistic expectations, anxiety, and identity confusion.
 

Break the cycle of attachment loss and unhealthy dependency for yourself or a loved one. There is hope!