What is love addiction?

What is an unhealthy addiction to finding love?

  1. One kind of love addiction is the obsessive search for the early-stage passion of love, and for someone who will make the addict feel whole. In many cases, love addicts reject those who offer a healthy, balanced, long-term relationship, instead chasing after those who are emotionally unavailable. They are addicted to the early stages of passion, and can often be found in the midst of a constant cycle of euphoria and depression as they yo-yo from one unhealthy relationship to the next.

Love addiction is often rooted in childhood neglect, rejection, or even abandonment. Without solid early experiences in relating to others in healthy ways, it is easy to build unrealistic daydreams and fantasies of what love should be like, setting yourself up for romantic failure. Overcoming love addiction takes time and hard work, usually with the help of a professional therapist, but it is possible to move past the addiction and form a stable, healthy, lifelong relationship.

Looking for verifiable information on the science of attraction and relationships? We’re a neuroscientist and a biological anthropologist eager to help you put the Anatomy of Love to work in your own life.