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20 - Passionate Love Addiction: An Evolutionary Survival Mechanism That Can Go Terribly Wrong

from Part IV - Prevention and Treatment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 July 2020

By
Maria Bolshakova ,
Helen Fisher ,
Henri-Jean Aubin  and
Steve Sussman
Edited by
Steve Sussman
Steve Sussman
Affiliation:
University of Southern California
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Summary

Romantic love is a universal feeling that most individuals hope to experience in their lifetime. At its best, it is fulfilling, joyous, committed, and stable. However, there is a chance that love can become dysregulated, associated with a preoccupation with love objects, stalking, and/or depression. Feelings of love mimic individual’s neurobiological responses to drugs of abuse and can become an obsession that resembles behaviors of a substance-dependent addict. In this chapter, we discuss the evolution of romantic love and love addiction etiology. We speculate on four personality dimensions that may distinguish certain love-related behaviors and addiction. Finally, we draw from substance and behavioral addiction literature to suggest various prevention and treatment strategies for those who are susceptible to or currently afflicted by love addiction.

Keywords

craving intensificationloss of controlcorrecting mythssecure attachmentsprevalence overestimates reductionstress and mood managementexerciseguided cognitive restructuringmedication
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Substance and Behavioral Addictions , pp. 262 - 270
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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