Love Addiction

Love Addiction consists of three components: Romance, Relationship and Sexual Addiction.  Love addiction is often perceived to be “less serious” than other process addictions i.e. compulsive sexual addictions, eating disorders or self-harm/mutilation addictions. Perhaps because it sounds “softer.”  In reality it is extremely painful and can be very dangerous to both the addict and their partners.  Many suicides, murders, stalkings, rapes and other crimes of passion have their roots in this addiction.

Love addiction is characterized by emotional dependency and an almost instant romantic attachment with another person. All romances go through the bubble period where everything seems perfect and the other person can do no wrong. With love and relationship addicts, this bubble is blown out of proportion, dominating constantly their thoughts and feelings. The sudden rush of romance, the high of believing they are in love, becomes the dominant form of expression in a love addict’s life. They become convinced that their perfect partner is waiting for them and they can discover the ideal romance that is lurking in the proverbial wings of life. Once they begin a relationship, if it lasts for any reasonable period of time, the love addict quickly enters into the mode of desperation fueled by an obsessive-compulsive desire to possess the other person. This need becomes so overwhelming the love addict believes they cannot live without the love and constant attention of the other. Their emotional volatility takes control of their lives, wrecking boundaries and spiritual equilibrium. In the harsh lens of love addiction, the addict warps the human desire for intimacy as their emotions become a bottomless pit of blind desire.

Healthy intimacy is defined by more than just romantic attachment and sexual relations. A good relationship brings new insight and awareness to the individual as they learn to value another human being as much as they value themselves. But love addicts have difficulty ever being alone, and they consistently choose partners who are abusive or emotionally unavailable. They miss out on the major events of their life in regards to career and family as they constantly seek out the next romantic high. When they lack a relationship, they feel desperate and alone, but when they are in a relationship, they swiftly become miserable and detached. With a basic inability to have a healthy relationship, they mistake their self-centered romantic intensity for the reality of love.

ONE80CENTER realizes the difficult position love addicts find themselves in as they exist in an emotional world of constant desperation. Dominated by the fear of being alone or being rejected, they never find a comfort zone in or out of a relationship. Caught in an endless web of false romantic intrigue, they end up leaving a path of destruction in their wake. Recognizing the severe emotional, physical and spiritual implications of love addiction, ONE80CENTER is ready to help the addict walk the path of recovery. Leaving the delusions of overblown intimacy behind, the client can achieve emotional sobriety.