T he whole idea about relationship is tough enough as it is. Getting into it, making it work and maintaining the relationship are some of the things that take up a lot of time and energy. It’s always about trust and forgiveness among other things.
But what happens when it has to end? All the efforts go to waste and the worst part is it is not even your fault and you still love this person. So you mourn over your lost love, you cry yourself to sleep and have recurring thoughts about the broken relationship and have them play like a broken record inside your head. You keep telling yourself that you’ll get over it. But what will happen if you don’t?
In serious cases, those who find it difficult to move on from their broken relationships suffer serious consequences like dry-heaving in the morning, chest pains, inability to work or eat and increased heart beat rate. They also find it very difficult to sleep. Even when they do, they get nightmares.
Although it may sound a little bit over-dramatized, these things really happen. There are people out there who suffer from it and they keep telling themselves that it will go away eventually. One thing that they don’t know is that they are actually suffering from a condition called ‘limerence”.
According to Albert Wakin, Ph.D., a psychology professor at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, and the leading expert on the condition, “A man or woman suffering from limerence is in a constant state of compulsory longing for another person. It doesn’t matter if their affection is returned; nothing will satiate their need for emotional reciprocation.”
In an interview with Marie Claire magazine, Wakin explained about the earlier stage of relationship when the couple experience the state of euphoria due to the release of oxytocin, dopamine and sex hormones such as testosterone and estrogen. This blissful state referred to as ‘honeymoon state’ will last for six up to 24 months in a healthy relationship. But a person suffering from limerence is stuck in it.
This is not really a laughing matter as someone suffering from limerence can take the obsession towards the same person for up to 60 years! In normal cases, it lasts for three to five years until they move on to someone new.
There is still no cure for limerence. The patients are prescribed with low dose of anti-depressant Lexapro. According to one patient, it ‘melts’ the part of her brain that feels frozen on obsessive thoughts.
So love is tough. So tough that we can get sick because of it. What do you think? Thoughts?
Source: marieclaire.com stormtiger.com and doctorgenki.tripod.com
Photos: freedigitalphotos.com
