The sleeplessness, the rollercoaster of emotions, the cold sweats, the racing thoughts... cocaine addition? Oxycontin? Not so much. I'm talking about love addiction my friends, and some researchers believe it is clinical.
Helen E. Fisher, Ph.D., a professor of anthropology at Rutgers University and author of "Why We Love: The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love," has stated that when researching the brain waves of a group of patients looking at romantic pictures, the areas of the brain that lit up were the same as those that corresponded to drug addiction. She has said, "When I first started looking at the properties of infatuation, they had some of the same elements of a cocaine high: sleeplessness, loss of a sense of time, absolute focus on love to the detriment of all around you," Fisher said of her research when interviewed by Psychology Today magazine. "Infatuation can overtake the rational parts of your brain."
And viola ladies - we are off the hook. All those lingering emotions we feel when a relationship ends aren't symbolic of some emotional shortcoming - it is clinical love addiction!
Although this may comfort some, as an independent, proactive, self-reliant woman, this doesn't really help me feel any better. Rather than buying into the hype, and giving yourself an excuse to wallow in your love addiction ("it's not my fault, it's my brain!"), try hard to think about why the relationship ended, and why you are better off without him.
When addiction knocks, knock it the eff out. The last thing you need is the ghost of relationships past to haunt you. Especially since there is no such thing as love methadone.
Helen E. Fisher, Ph.D., a professor of anthropology at Rutgers University and author of "Why We Love: The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love," has stated that when researching the brain waves of a group of patients looking at romantic pictures, the areas of the brain that lit up were the same as those that corresponded to drug addiction. She has said, "When I first started looking at the properties of infatuation, they had some of the same elements of a cocaine high: sleeplessness, loss of a sense of time, absolute focus on love to the detriment of all around you," Fisher said of her research when interviewed by Psychology Today magazine. "Infatuation can overtake the rational parts of your brain."
And viola ladies - we are off the hook. All those lingering emotions we feel when a relationship ends aren't symbolic of some emotional shortcoming - it is clinical love addiction!
Although this may comfort some, as an independent, proactive, self-reliant woman, this doesn't really help me feel any better. Rather than buying into the hype, and giving yourself an excuse to wallow in your love addiction ("it's not my fault, it's my brain!"), try hard to think about why the relationship ended, and why you are better off without him.
When addiction knocks, knock it the eff out. The last thing you need is the ghost of relationships past to haunt you. Especially since there is no such thing as love methadone.
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