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Love Addiction Explained: Signs, Causes, and the Path to Recovery

By Jim Hall, M.S.

Do you panic when you’re not in a relationship—like love is an addiction? Why is staying in a toxic relationship sometimes easier than walking away?

If this sounds familiar, you’re not broken—You might be experiencing love addiction—a cycle of obsessive emotional dependency where your self-worth, happiness, and even identity become tied to a partner’s validation—often at the cost of your well-being.

Romantic love is celebrated as life’s greatest joy—yet for some, it becomes a source of pain, instability, and compulsive longing. Science backs this: A 2024 study in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions found that romantic love activates the same brain regions as substance addiction (Yang et al., 2024).

In this article, you’ll gain a comprehensive understanding of love addiction—why it happens, the signs and causes, whether it is real, and essential steps toward recovery and healing.

Article Summary (Click to Expand)

βœ“ What love addiction really is—and why it’s not just ‘being extra passionate.’
βœ“ The telling signs, symptoms, and feelings (hint: it’s not just passion or clinginess).
βœ“ Is it a real disorder? The science debate
βœ“ How your brain mirrors addiction (and why breakups feel like withdrawal).
βœ“ Root causes—childhood wounds, attachment insecurities, and more.
βœ“ Love addiction vs. codependency, sex addiction, and healthy love—key differences.
βœ“ Evidence-based recovery: Therapy, self-help steps, and how to support a loved one.

 

 What Is Love Addiction?

Love addiction is a psychological pattern where individuals develop an unhealthy, compulsive attachment to a romantic partner, the idea of love, or an obsession with relationships themselves (* Love Addiction is also known as obsessive love, relationship addiction, pathological love, or emotional dependency). 

Unlike healthy bonds, this dependency is driven by deep-seated attachment insecurities, poor boundaries, and a relentless need for external validation.

It's more than just "loving too much"; it's a powerful coping mechanism where intense feelings of connection provide an emotional escape, a temporary self-esteem boost, or a way to numb unresolved pain, much like a drug. A growing body of research suggests love addiction mirrors behavioral and substance addictions through compulsive engagement, preoccupation, and withdrawal symptoms (Özal et al., 2023).

Love addiction can affect anyone, but those with insecure attachment styles, a history of unresolved trauma, or significant unmet emotional needs are particularly vulnerable.

Obsessive love is not currently recognized as an official mental health diagnosis, and there are no universally accepted diagnostic criteria. However, its emotional and functional impact is well-documented, and obsessive love is treatable to help individuals break free from unhealthy patterns, rebuild self-esteem, and form healthier, more secure relationships.

Common Signs of Love Addiction

If you consistently feel anxious, obsessive, or emotionally dependent in relationships, or experience significant distress when not in one, you may be showing symptoms of love addiction. While severity varies, certain patterns are highly indicative of these issues.

Here are common signs to watch for:

  • Fear of Abandonment: A pervasive fear of being left, leading to clinginess and a relentless need for reassurance.
  • Obsession and Compulsion: Constant preoccupation with your partner or relationship, driving compulsive behaviors like excessive checking or fantasizing.
  • Drawn to Emotionally Unavailable Partners: A recurring pattern of attracting individuals who are narcissistic, or avoidantly attached, or consistently unattainable.
  • Staying in Toxic Relationships: Feeling powerless to leave unhealthy or one-sided relationships, clinging desperately despite the pain.
  • Low Self-Esteem: Your sense of self-worth is entirely tied to your partner and the relationship; without one, you feel worthless or empty.
  • Unrealistic Expectations: Holding idealized or fantasy-based beliefs about relationships that inevitably lead to persistent disappointment and conflict.

Note: These behaviors, especially when persistent and disruptive to your well-being, signal a deeper emotional dependency and potentially an addiction to a person.

Related reading: 14 symptoms and signs of love addiction.

How Love Addiction Feels: The Internal Experience

Beyond observable behaviors, love addiction is characterized by a baffling and often tumultuous emotional experience, marked by powerful and overwhelming feelings. Common examples of this include:

  • Intense Emotional Rollercoaster: Wild swings between euphoria and despair based on a partner's attention.
  • Profound Loss of Self-Identity: A blurring of personal identity, as self-worth becomes entirely dependent on the relationship.
  • Insatiable Craving for Connection: A desperate, almost physical need for romantic connection, leading to unbearable emptiness when absent.
  • Deep Denial / Idealization: A tendency to ignore red flags and idealize a partner, hoping they will change.
  • Betrayal of Receiving 'Crumbs': Feeling profoundly used or unreciprocated despite immense personal investment.
  • Terror of Loss & Solitude: A paralyzing fear of losing their partner, leading to desperate clinging and the belief that such a connection can never be replaced.
  • Chronic Fear of Authenticity: Constantly trying to avoid appearing "too much" or "needy" to please a partner, leading to profound self-resentment.

Not a Formal Diagnosis but Widely Recognized and Treated

Love addiction is not officially recognized as a diagnosis in the DSM-5-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition). This exclusion mainly results from its inherently complex and subjective nature, which makes creating clear, consistent, and objective diagnostic criteria difficult (Gori et al., 2025; Maglia et al., 2023). Until more thorough research is conducted, it remains unrecognized as a formal disorder.

Still, behaviors linked to it significantly affect individuals and reflect key traits of other behavioral addictions, such as obsession, compulsive actions, loss of control, and withdrawal (Maglia et al., 2023; Marina et al., 2023).

Note on Behavioral Addictions: Although the idea of behavioral addictions has been examined for a long time, Gambling Disorder was officially recognized as the first major non-substance-related addiction in manuals like the DSM-5 in 2013-- marking a significant shift, confirming that compulsive behaviors deserve clinical attention and treatment within the larger category of behavioral addictions (Gori et al., 2025; Maglia et al., 2023).

Treatment of Love Addiction in Psychology Is Widespread

Despite lacking a formal diagnosis, treatment for love addiction is common and accessible within the therapy community, often alongside co-occurring conditions such as codependency, unresolved trauma, and insecure attachment styles actively addressed by mental health professionals worldwide (Meyer & Ponti, 2019; Earp et al., 2017).

Many licensed therapists, counselors, and recovery treatment centers actively recognize and treat love addiction, often in conjunction with co-occurring conditions such as codependency, unresolved trauma, and insecure attachment styles.

  • Further emphasizing this broad recognition and treatment, in August 2024, I personally reviewed over 150 licensed inpatient addiction recovery programs across the U.S. and Europe that showed more than half explicitly listed love addiction as a condition they assess and treat.

This significant and widespread adoption of love and relationship addiction in the therapeutic community reinforces the understanding that, even as an emerging concept, it represents a very real issue for many people with painful consequences—and those struggling with it unequivocally deserve acknowledgment, compassionate support, and access to adequate care.

Is Love Addiction Real? The Ongoing Debate

The concept of love addiction often sparks ongoing debate within the mental health community. While many experts and professionals see it as a distinct behavioral disorder, others consider patterns and behaviors of addictive love as symptoms or byproducts of underlying issues like attachment trauma, codependency, or other mental health diagnoses.

Here is a breakdown of the key arguments:

Arguments for Love Addiction:

  • Obsessive romantic love behaviors activate the brain’s dopamine and reward systems in ways strikingly similar to substance use, such as with drugs like cocaine (Earp et al., 2017).
  • Individuals experiencing separation or relationship distress often report withdrawal symptoms that mimic those of substance dependency, including intense emotional and physical discomfort (Fisher et al., 2016).
  • The patterns observed in addictive love align well with established clinical frameworks such as the Component Model of Addiction, lending theoretical support (Zibenberg & Natividade, 2025).
  • It is already widely recognized as a significant issue and actively addressed by a substantial number of licensed therapists and specialized treatment centers worldwide.
  • The rising demand for treatment for love addiction reflects a growing public awareness and an undeniable need for specialized aid (Sanches & John, 2019; Özal Z, et al., 2023).
  • Clinicians and therapists consistently report observing distinct patterns of obsessive love, emotional dependency, compulsive attachment, and trauma bonding in a significant number of their clients (Sanches & John, 2019).

Arguments against Love Addiction:

  • A key argument against formal classification is the current lack of universally standardized diagnostic criteria and the need for more extensive empirical research (Maglia et al., 2023).
  • Many symptoms of love addiction significantly overlap with established mental health conditions, such as anxious attachment styles, Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), making differential diagnosis challenging (Bennett, C., 2021).
  • Critics argue that formally labeling love as an 'addiction' risks pathologizing a fundamental and natural human need for love, bonding, and connection (Özal et al., 2023).
  • Some perspectives suggest that reducing the complex experience of human love solely to neurochemical processes oversimplifies its multifaceted nature and overlooks psychosocial factors (Fisher et al., 2016; Billieux, J., et al., 2015)

So, Is Love Addiction Real?

Yes—if addiction is defined as a compulsive, harmful behavioral pattern involving obsession, emotional dependency, and withdrawal.

No—if addiction is defined strictly as substance dependence or only based on DSM/ICD criteria.

Why This Debate on Love Addiction Matters

Regardless of the terminology or whether it's a diagnosable disorder, the lived reality for many individuals involves deeply obsessive, painful, and self-destructive patterns in relationships that can significantly impact:

  • Emotional health and well-being
  • Sense of self-worth and identity
  • Capacity for genuine intimacy and secure connection

Ultimately, the underlying pain is unequivocally real—and so is the urgent need for healthy change, compassionate support, and healing.

Recognizing the Obsessive Love Pattern Can:

Recognizing these patterns can be a pivotal step because it empowers individuals to:

  • Help identify and break toxic relational cycles
  • Reveal underlying issues like trauma, anxiety, or low self-esteem
  • Empower individuals to build secure, emotionally healthy connections

How Love Addiction Mirrors Drug and Behavioral Addictions

Love addiction profoundly activates the brain's reward system in ways strikingly similar to substance and behavioral addictions. Neurobiological studies show intense romantic love engages the same dopamine-driven pathways implicated in drug cravings, compulsive behaviors, and euphoric highs, also triggering withdrawal symptoms that mimic drug detox (Özal et al., 2023).

When Romantic Love Becomes Compulsion and Triggers Withdrawal

A groundbreaking 2024 meta-analysis published in Neuropsychologia strongly supported that intense romantic love and established behavioral addictions activate significantly overlapping brain regions. Specifically, areas like the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC)—regions critically involved in motivation, emotional pain processing, and craving—show heightened activity (Yang et al., 2024).

This activation of the brain’s powerful dopaminergic reward system reinforces unhealthy, cyclical patterns characteristic of addiction, including:

  • Dopamine Surges: Fueling intense obsession, euphoric highs, and a desperate drive for connection.
  • Tolerance: Requiring progressively greater emotional intensity or relational 'drama' to achieve the desired 'in-love' feeling or sense of validation.
  • Withdrawal: Triggering profound anxiety, depression, intense dysphoria, and pervasive obsessive thinking when the 'fix' is absent.

What might begin as passionate romantic intensity can, over time, devolve into a deeply ingrained pattern of emotional dependency and severe dysregulation—the neurological hallmark of behavioral addiction.

It's the Feeling, Not Always the Person: The True Object of Craving

The very term 'love addiction' can be somewhat misleading.  The dependency and craving with obsessive love aren't always for 'love' for their partner; instead, it's an intense, compulsive drive to maintain the feeling of being in love itself. Akin to a drug user relentlessly chasing the next dopamine hit, love addicts become profoundly hooked on the intense emotional highs of infatuation, the validation, and the early-stage euphoria of romance.

This powerful emotional state effectively hijacks the brain’s reward system, leading to a compulsive attachment—even to partners who are consistently toxic, emotionally unavailable, or abusive (Fisher et al., 2016; Uhl, G. R., et al., 2019).

'In both substance use and obsessive love, it is the addictive stimulus – not the relationship or drug itself – that dominates the person’s emotional world.'
— Fisher et al., 2016; Koob & Volkow, 2016 (modified for blockquote format)

Love Withdrawal: Similar to Drug Withdrawal

For a love addict, a breakup is not just painful—it's a biochemical collapse. Studies show that romantic rejection and relationship loss activates the same brain regions responsible for physical pain and drug withdrawal (Sbarra & Ferrer, 2020).

Examples of common withdrawal symptoms shared by love addiction and drug addiction include:

  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Insomnia
  • Obsessive thoughts
  • Intense Craving

The sudden loss of a partner or the daily dopamine hits, emotional rituals, and connection in a relationship can cause a psychological crash similar to a heroin addict suddenly stopping heroin use. This isn’t “just heartbreak”—for a love addict, it’s an emotional and neurological detox.

Understanding the Neuroscience of Love Addiction is Crucial for Recovery

Recognizing that love and relationship addiction is far more than mere emotional dependency—that it is powerfully neurologically reinforced—can help normalize the intense pain and shame many love addicts experience.

You are not 'crazy' or 'too sensitive'--rather, you are responding to deep-seated attachment wounds and powerful, measurable neurochemical forces.

Understanding the underlying biology of love addiction doesn’t magically erase the hurt, but it undeniably offers crucial clarity, fosters self-compassion, and provides a powerful starting point for genuine recovery. When you truly grasp the forces you're up against, you can begin to strategically dismantle the addictive cycle and forge a deliberate path toward healthier, more secure, and fulfilling love.

πŸ‘‰ Related Read:

What Causes Love Addiction?

Why Does Love Addiction Happen? Love addiction doesn't stem from just one thing. Instead, it typically develops from a mix of psychological, environmental, and biological factors. Here are some key things that often contribute to it (Gori, 2025; Marina et al., 2023):

  • Childhood Trauma and Insecure Attachment: Early experiences of abuse or neglect often create profound attachment wounds, shaping unhealthy adult relationship patterns (Gori, A., et al., 2025)
  • Pervasive Low Self-Esteem: Individuals with chronic low self-worth frequently rely on a partner to feel valued or complete (Gori, A., et al., 2023).
  • Co-occurring Mental Health Conditions: Conditions like depression, anxiety, or Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) can significantly intensify love addiction behaviors and emotional dependency (Sbarra, D., & Ferrer, E., 2020).
  • Family Dysfunction and Unhealthy Modeling: Growing up in chaotic or emotionally unavailable family environments can normalize unhealthy relational patterns, increasing vulnerability (Ferrarese, 2024).
  • Genetic Predisposition: A family history of addiction (whether substance-related or behavioral) can indicate a genetic vulnerability, influencing an individual's susceptibility to developing compulsive behavioral patterns, including love addiction (Crownview Co-Occurring Institute, 2024).
  • Societal and Cultural Idealization of Romance: Media portrayals and cultural narratives that often promote an idealized, intense, or 'all-consuming' version of romantic love can create unrealistic expectations, leading to a compulsive pursuit of an imagined 'perfect' relationship. (Love Is Respect, n.d.)

Understanding these underlying factors is a crucial step toward healing and breaking the cycle of love addiction.

How Common Is Love Addiction?

It's challenging to pinpoint exactly how common love addiction is, as it's not yet an official diagnosis, and research is still growing. However, studies provide some key insights:

  • Research by Sussman et al. (2011) suggests that approximately 3% to 6% of the general adult population may experience addictive love. This rate is similar to other recognized behavioral addictions.
  • While this offers a general estimate, the actual number of people affected can vary, depending on how love addiction is defined and the specific groups studied. More rigorous research is ongoing to get a clearer picture.

Consequences of Love Addiction: The Far-Reaching Impact

Love addiction's impact extends far beyond emotional pain, often leading to a range of serious psychological, emotional, and social consequences. Research consistently links it with issues like chronic anxiety, depression, and impaired daily functioning (Topino et al., 2024; Zibenberg et al., 2025; Cavalli et al., 2024).

Common consequences include:

Significant Mental Health Impact: Leading to chronic anxiety, depression, profound shame, and emotional dysregulation.

Impaired Daily Functioning & Productivity: Affecting concentration, work performance, and potentially causing financial strain.

Social Isolation: A retreat from friends and family, resulting in diminished support networks.

Cycle of Toxic Relationships: Chronic repetition of unhealthy patterns and a deep-seated inability to form secure attachments.

Increased Vulnerability to Other Addictions: A heightened risk of developing co-occurring compulsive behaviors (e.g., substance use disorders) as maladaptive coping.

Love Addiction and Attachment Theory: The Roots of Relational Dependency

Love addiction is profoundly intertwined with insecure attachment styles, which frequently originate from unresolved relational wounds sustained in early childhood (Cavalli et al., 2025).

Attachment theory, a cornerstone of modern psychology, explains how our earliest emotional bonds with primary caregivers fundamentally shape our capacity for forming healthy, secure relationships later in life. When a child's emotional needs are consistently met with responsiveness, empathy, and a sense of safety, a secure attachment style typically develops—fostering trust, robust emotional regulation skills, and stable relationship patterns in adulthood (Cavalli et al., 2025).

Conversely, when those early bonds are characterized by neglect, inconsistency, unreliability, or outright trauma, insecure attachment styles are far more likely to emerge. These insecure patterns dramatically increase an individual's vulnerability to developing addictive love relationships in adulthood, predisposing them to forming obsessive love attachments to romantic partners, experiencing various intimacy issues, and engaging in compulsive relational behaviors (Cavalli et al., 2025).

Insecure Attachment: The Breeding Ground for Love Addiction

As Sanches and John (2019) compellingly argue, relationship addiction is inextricably linked to underlying attachment insecurity, intense separation anxiety, and pervasive emotional dysregulation—all core traits that strongly align with established patterns observed in other behavioral addictions.

Anxious (Preoccupied) Attachment and Love Addiction

  • A deep reliance on a partner for emotional stability, validation, and a sense of self-worth.
  • Intense obsession over any perceived rejection, criticism, or disconnection from the partner.
  • Experiencing panic-level anxiety when separated, even for brief periods.
  • A tendency to remain trapped in unhealthy or even abusive relationships, despite the harm.

These behaviors echo the core symptoms of love addiction: crippling emotional dependency, pervasive obsession, a paralyzing fear of loss, and a profound difficulty in letting go.

Avoidant (Dismissive or Fearful) Attachment and the Avoidance of Intimacy

Individuals with an avoidant attachment style (either dismissive-avoidant or fearful-avoidant) typically:

  • Actively resist emotional closeness, vulnerability, and any perceived threat to their autonomy.
  • Often view intimacy itself as a threat to their independence and self-sufficiency.
  • Tend to emotionally shut down, withdraw, or actively push their partners away when conflict arises.

While avoidant individuals are less prone to developing love addiction directly, their behaviors often exacerbate existing attachment wounds in their anxious or love-addicted partners, perpetuating a painful cycle of pursuit and withdrawal."

The Anxious-Avoidant Trap: A Self-Perpetuating Cycle of Pain

Ironically, individuals with anxious-preoccupied and avoidant attachment styles are frequently drawn to one another, creating a self-perpetuating push-pull dynamic within their relationships. This toxic relationship cycle is often referred to as the "anxious-avoidant trap" or, specifically within addictive relationships, the love addiction cycle. In this destructive dynamic:

  • The anxious-preoccupied partner desperately craves closeness, is consumed by a paralyzing fear of abandonment, and clings even more desperately when intimacy feels threatened.
  • The avoidant partner, feeling overwhelmed by these demands, distances themselves further in an attempt to maintain control, preserve their autonomy, or avoid their own vulnerability.

This creates a self-reinforcing and profoundly toxic emotional loop, trapping both individuals and paradoxically reinforcing the very fears they are desperately trying to avoid.

πŸ‘‰ Related Reading:

Codependency and Love Addiction

Codependency and Love addiction are distinct yet frequently overlapping concepts. While individuals struggling with love addiction often display codependent traits within their romantic relationships, it's crucial to understand that not all codependent individuals are love addicts (Mellody, P., 2003).

Key Distinctions Between Love Addiction and Codependency

The primary distinction lies in their central focus:

  • Love addiction predominantly centers on a compulsive, often obsessive drive for romantic intensity and emotional highs within a specific relationship, fueled by a deep craving for connection and an intense fear of abandonment (Sanches & John, 2019).
  • Codependency isn't an addiction; rather, it's seen as an unhealthy relationship pattern (Cherry, 2022). It reflects a broader, more widespread tendency to neglect one's own needs, desires, and well-being in favor of overly focusing on, controlling, or caring for others.

While relationship addiction is characterized by intense emotional reactivity and compulsive pursuit of a partner, codependency manifests more as a need for control, over-functioning in relationships, and an excessive reliance on external validation derived from being perceived as "nice," supportive, or indispensable to others.

Despite their differences, both love addiction and codependency are deeply rooted in similar developmental experiences, commonly linked to childhood trauma, emotional neglect, or inconsistent caregiving (Cavalli et al., 2025). These early relational experiences can lead to the formation of insecure attachment styles, poor personal boundaries, pervasive low self-worth, and an intensified fear of abandonment or rejection—all foundational vulnerabilities that manifest distinctively in each pattern.

A key differentiator is that codependent patterns can extend to any relationship dynamic—with family members, coworkers, or friends—not exclusively romantic ones. However, a large majority of people with love addiction will indeed show deep codependent traits in their romantic relationships, especially when their sense of identity becomes intertwined with their partner's. (Mellody, P., 2003).

Therefore, overcoming obsessive love usually requires healing these core codependent traits, such as establishing healthy boundaries, fostering true self-esteem, and becoming self-reliant instead of relying on external validation. (Mellody, P., 2003).

Love Addiction vs. Sex Addiction: Are They the Same?

It's a common point of confusion: love addiction and sex addiction are often used interchangeably, yet they are distinct conditions. While both terms circulate widely—perhaps partly due to organizations like Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous (SLAA) that address both issues—understanding their fundamental differences is vital for accurate diagnosis and effective treatment.

A 2023 study published in Sexual Health & Compulsivity found that while there is some overlap between love addiction and sex addiction (also frequently referred to as hypersexual disorder or compulsive sexual behavior disorder), the vast majority of individuals with love addiction do not exhibit compulsive sexual behavior. This research underscores that these are, in fact, different types of intimacy disorders (Borrello et al., 2023).

Key Distinction Between Love Addiction and Sex Addiction

The core difference lies in the primary object of the compulsion:

  • Love addiction is primarily characterized by an obsessive, compulsive need for romantic attachment, emotional connection, and external validation, typically fixated on one specific person or the feeling of being in love. The drive is for intimacy, belonging, and emotional highs (Sanches & John, 2019).
  • Sex addiction (or compulsive sexual behavior disorder) involves a pervasive, compulsive drive for sexual gratification, often characterized by multiple partners, engagement in high-risk sexual behaviors, and a notable lack of emotional connection. The drive is for sexual arousal and release.

Both love addiction and sex addiction are indeed categorized as intimacy disorders, and they can share underlying root causes such as childhood trauma, insecure attachment issues, or low self-esteem. It's also possible for them to co-occur in what's sometimes termed "sex and love addiction." However, their core motivations diverge significantly: love addicts fundamentally crave emotional bonding, whereas sex addicts primarily seek sexual arousal and release.

πŸ‘‰ Related Reading: Love and Sex Addiction: What's the difference?.

Real Love vs. Addictive Love: Understanding the Crucial Difference

Both healthy romantic love and addictive love can share exhilarating highs—which may lead to confusion. However, their long-term impact on a person's well-being couldn't be more different. Healthy love feels good, secure, and empowering, while addictive love often feels chaotic, desperate, painful, and controlling.

The Evolution of Healthy Love

In a healthy relationship, love grows organically and gradually. While the early "honeymoon phase" is naturally characterized by intense excitement and attraction, it matures into a secure, stable bond built on mutual trust, deep respect, and emotional safety. Healthy partnerships enable individuals to maintain their individuality and personal boundaries while providing consistent support and genuine intimacy (Gori, Topino, Russo, & Griffiths, 2025).

The Trajectory of Addictive Love

In stark contrast, addictive relationships often begin with similar powerful highs to a healthy relationship—intense passion, overwhelming infatuation, and attachment. But instead of evolving into a secure and stable relationship, these connections typically spiral into patterns of extreme emotional dependency, obsession, and a paralyzing fear of abandonment.

Why They Can Feel Similar at First (Neurobiological Overlap)

Early romantic love can indeed feel "addictive" due to a powerful rush of neurochemicals like dopamine (for reward and craving), oxytocin (for bonding), and norepinephrine (for arousal and focus). These powerful neurochemicals naturally promote bonding and intense euphoria. However, in healthy love, this initial emotional surge gradually balances out, allowing for the development of trust, stability, and a secure attachment (Zibenberg & Natividade, 2025).

In addictive love, that initial intoxication becomes the relentless goal. Instead of using the surge to build genuine intimacy, the individual compulsively chases the high, leading to chronic instability, heightened anxiety, and self-destructive behaviors.

The Defining Difference: Impact on Your Well-being

The most profound distinction between healthy and addictive love lies in its consequences for your emotional health and overall well-being.

Healthy love enriches your life. Addictive love drains it.

Addictive relationships consistently leave you feeling anxious, emotionally depleted, trapped, or perpetually stuck in draining cycles of intense highs and devastating lows. When the pain dramatically outweighs the joy—and when your self-worth becomes entirely dependent on another person's attention, approval, or love—these are undeniable signals of a shift from real connection to emotional compulsion.

As behavioral addiction expert Professor Mark Griffiths, PhD, aptly puts it:

"The distinction lies in the consequences. Addictive love vs. real love is about how the relationship affects your emotional health."

Understanding this crucial difference clarifies what love addiction truly is: it's not simply intense love, but a deeply unhealthy pattern where desire turns into need, suffering tragically outweighs pleasure, and devotion persists despite clear and accumulating harm.

Types of Love Addiction

Relationship addiction doesn't always look the same. While all individuals struggling with love addiction share underlying obsessive, compulsive, and emotionally dependent relationship patterns, the specific ways these patterns manifest can vary dramatically from person to person.

As a former therapist with a Master's in Counseling, and through years of dedicated study, writing, and counseling hundreds of clients experiencing love addiction, I've identified several distinct types of love addicts. These unique observations and clinical insights form the basis of my published work, including my book, "The Love Addict in Love Addiction," where I explore nine different patterns in depth.

Here are three of these examples:

1. The Typical Love Addict (The Idealizer)

This is a frequently encountered and widely recognized pattern. Individuals exhibiting this type frequently:

  • "Fall in love" overnight, committing quickly without truly knowing their partner.
  • Experience an intense rush of "feeling alive" and euphoria in the early stages of a relationship, often mistaking this overwhelming intensity, perceived chemistry, and fantasy bonding for "true love."
  • Tend to ignore significant red flags, often placing their partner on an unrealistic pedestal.
  • Become deeply emotionally dependent and obsessive, driven by a relentless craving for validation and reassurance.
  • Feel utterly crushed by emotional withdrawal when a relationship ends—describing the pain as unbearable, akin to detoxing from severe substance use like heroin or opioids (Hall, 2020,).

2. The Romantic Love Addict (Serial Dater)

These love addicts are primarily driven by the "chase" and the exhilarating rush of early romance. Their addiction lies not in the long-term relationship itself, but in the thrill of new beginnings and the temporary validation it provides:

  • Continuously seek new partners to re-experience the intoxicating initial phase of attraction and infatuation.
  • Struggle significantly with genuine commitment or deep emotional intimacy once the "honeymoon phase" fades.
  • May use dating apps, casual hookups, and flirtation as a powerful form of escapism from unresolved emotional pain or insecurity.
  • Confuse constant romantic stimulation with genuine connection, avoiding the depth required for a lasting bond.
  • Their primary aim is the temporary rush of being wanted, desired, and validated.

3. The Avoidant Love Addict (The Paradoxical Pursuer)

A seemingly contradictory type, the avoidant love addict paradoxically craves connection while simultaneously resisting true intimacy. Their patterns often include:

  • Being emotionally distant or detached within committed primary relationships
  • Becoming dependent on their partner's neediness, and are often primarily attracted to people whom they can control and who look up to them.
  • May frequently engage in affairs and obsess over unavailable or forbidden partners outside their committed partnership, seeking the thrill of the intensity of the "unattainable."
  • Often feel trapped or suffocated in their primary relationships, yet are equally addicted to the excitement and validation found in new romantic attention.
  • May become addicted to and struggle to end a toxic affair partner, despite the significant pain and consequences these entanglements cause.
  • These behaviors often reflect a deep-seated, unresolved push-pull dynamic rooted in profound fears of intimacy and an underlying fear of abandonment.

πŸ‘‰ Related Reading: The 9 Love Addict Types.

Note: In practice, these types of love addicts can overlap and are not always mutually exclusive. One might exhibit characteristics from more than one type. For example, someone could blend behavioral tendencies from both typical and avoidant love addicts.

Love Addiction on a Continuum: Understanding Its Spectrum

Like many behavioral challenges—including substance use disorders and other behavioral addictions—relationship addiction may be best understood as existing on a continuum (Sanches & John, 2019). This perspective acknowledges that individuals can experience varying degrees of obsessive love patterns, ranging from mild and manageable to pervasive and severely impairing.
While more empirical research is continually needed to fully validate this specific framework for love addiction, clinical observations and anecdotal evidence from therapeutic practice strongly indicate that symptoms and behaviors vary significantly from person to person (Özal et al., 2023).

Understanding the Spectrum of Love Addiction

At the lower to middle range of the continuum, where many struggling individuals may initially find themselves, love addiction often presents as:

  • Persistent emotional reliance on a partner for self-worth, identity, or a sense of purpose.
  • Obsessive thoughts and pervasive denial concerning the person or the nature of the relationship.
  • Significant difficulty letting go of unfulfilling, unhealthy, or toxic relationships.
  • Intense and debilitating fear of abandonment.
  • Experiencing painful, almost physical withdrawal symptoms when a relationship ends or becomes uncertain.
  • Displaying impaired personal boundaries, tolerance of toxic partner dynamics, and a constant, insatiable need for reassurance.

As the intensity and progression of love addiction increase, so does the emotional, psychological, and often physical toll on the individual.

At the extreme end of the spectrum, the manifestations of love addiction can become profoundly dangerous, leading individuals to:

  • Tolerate, rationalize, or even excuse severe emotional, verbal, or physical abuse.
  • Engage in compulsive and intrusive behaviors such as stalking, excessive calling/texting, constant surveillance, or harassment.
  • Trigger dangerous obsessions or delusions about the partner, the relationship, or perceived rivals.
  • Result in self-harm, severe depressive episodes, suicidal ideation, or even acts of violence directed at self or others.

In rare but tragic cases, pathological love obsession has been chillingly linked to crimes of passion, murder-suicides, or other fatal consequences (Özal et al., 2023). This reflects the profound psychological grip that unresolved trauma, unmet attachment needs, or abandonment wounds can hold when entangled in deeply obsessive relational patterns.

The Benefit of this Continuum Perspective

Viewing love addiction on a continuum offers a critical advantage: it promotes greater understanding and compassion, and allows for more nuanced distinctions. This framework is invaluable because it can help identify early warning signs before the situation spirals into crisis or becomes dangerous. Crucially, this perspective encourages intervention and support at any point along the spectrum—not just in moments of acute breakdown or severe consequence.

πŸ‘‰Related reading:

Treatment for Love Addiction

Despite common advice to “just move on,” true recovery takes far more than willpower or surface-level strategies. Recovery from love addiction is neither easy nor instant, but with the right support, it is entirely achievable.

Given that love addiction is not officially recognized as a diagnosable condition in the DSM-5, more research is needed to understand precisely what the most effective methods of treatment for love addiction are. However some research suggests recovery methods may be beneficial and the most effective treatment is a comprehensive approach (Zibenberg & Natividade, 2025).

 

 

1. Therapy for Love Addiction

Therapy is one of the most commonly recommended and effective treatments for love addiction, especially when guided by a professional trained in addiction, trauma, or relationship issues (Sanches & John, 2019). The 2022 book, Behavioral Addictions: Conceptual, Clinical, Assessment, and Treatment Approaches, emphasizes evidence-based psychotherapeutic approaches for love and other behavioral addictions, including:

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Widely used to treat behavioral addictions, CBT focuses on identifying triggers, challenging distorted thought patterns, and building healthier responses to emotional distress.
  • Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT): Centers on strengthening emotional bonds and improving relational dynamics by addressing core emotional responses and insecure attachment patterns.
  • Schema Therapy: Aims to instill healthier coping mechanisms by targeting deeply ingrained negative core beliefs (schemas)—such as unworthiness or abandonment—often formed in childhood.
  • EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing): Strives to help individuals process unresolved trauma and emotional flashbacks that often fuel obsessive love and emotional dependency.
  • Motivational Interviewing (MI): Especially effective in early stages of treatment to enhance an individual's readiness for change and commitment to recovery.
  • Mindfulness-Based Interventions: Incorporating mindfulness exercises (e.g., meditation, deep breathing) for managing urges, improving emotional regulation, and increasing self-awareness.
  • Psychoeducation and Relapse Prevention: Core components that provide essential knowledge and strategies for long-term recovery.

2. Specialized Love Addiction & Attachment Coaching

Coaching can be a highly valuable and complementary component to therapy for individuals seeking recovery from relationship addiction. Specialized recovery coaches understand love addiction and attachment challenges and help clients by focusing on:

  • Developing Secure Attachment Behaviors: Identifying insecure attachment patterns and actively building healthier relational styles, self-worth, and confidence.
  • Building Emotional Awareness: Providing tools to understand emotions, recognize triggers, and develop healthier coping mechanisms.
  • Breakup Withdrawal Support: Guiding clients through the intense emotional and psychological withdrawal—providing strategies for self-soothing, empowering clients to move forward with clarity, self-worth, and resilience.
  • Establishing Healthy Boundaries: Learning to cultivate assertiveness and communication skills to express needs clearly and maintain personal limits without fear of rejection.
  • Healthy Dating Practices: Shifting old, insecure dating patterns to secure patterns - consciously choose healthier, emotionally available partners.

3. 12-Step Love Addiction Groups

Free to attend, 12-step love addiction groups offer invaluable support for recovery. They help reduce feelings of isolation, foster a strong sense of community, provide peer support from others on a similar journey (which helps reduce shame), and promote encouragement and accountability. Here are four support groups I often recommend to clients:

4. Group Therapy for Love Addiction

Group therapy combines professional guidance and support with the powerful healing potential of peer connection. It allows clients to:

  • Learn from shared group experiences and gain new insights and perspectives.
  • Receive professional insights and peer support in a safe, structured environment.
  • Practice healthy relational habits and interpersonal skills in real-time.
  • Engage the brain’s reward and attachment systems through positive social connection (Cavalli et al., 2025).

5. Rehab for Love Addiction

Some inpatient and outpatient rehab centers now treat relationship and love addiction utilizing specialized therapy programs. Key components or rehab include:

  • 24/7 therapeutic support (Or daily support- Outpatient)
  • Trauma-informed care
  • Modified 12-step frameworks/peer support 
  • Medical stabilization for co-occurring issues or dual diagnoses, if needed.
  • A combination of individual and group therapy
  • A safe, structured environment away from triggers and potential relapse

6. Love Addiction & Co-Occurring Conditions

Love addiction often occurs alongside other mental health issues (co-occurring)—such as anxiety, depression, or PTSD or complex trauma, or other addiction/compulsive behaviors. Left untreated, they can trigger relapse or continued relationship patterns—even if love addiction behaviors seem controlled.

For example:

  • Depression can lead someone to pursue the emotional highs of a relationship as a form of self-medication.
  • Unresolved trauma or abandonment can reinforce insecure attachment patterns, making individuals more likely to repeat unhealthy relationship dynamics.

7. Medication Management

While no medications directly treat love addiction itself, psychiatric support can be a helpful component for managing co-occurring symptoms, such as:

    • Anxiety and depression.
    • Obsessive or compulsive behaviors.
    • Post-breakup withdrawal symptoms (e.g., severe mood swings, intense cravings).
    • Antidepressants, mood stabilizers, or anti-anxiety medications should always be used under the careful guidance of a licensed healthcare provider (Sanches & John, 2019).

The Power of Social Support for Love Addiction Recovery

Recovery from love addiction is not meant to be done alone. Research shows that social connection can significantly reduce the impact of addiction and improve emotional regulation (Samba Recovery, 2025). Healing is accelerated when we feel seen, supported, and understood by others—especially in moments when we feel most vulnerable. Whether it’s through a trusted friend, therapist, coach, or recovery group, having safe people in your life creates a secure emotional environment where healing becomes possible.

Why Having Support in Love Addiction Recovery Matters:

  • It reduces shame and isolation—you’re no longer suffering in silence.
  • It provides emotional regulation through co-regulation—others can help calm your nervous system.
  • It offers accountability and encouragement when the pull of fantasy or unhealthy contact feels strong.
  • It validates your pain and reminds you: you are not alone, and you are not broken.
“When we connect with safe individuals, we begin to feel safe within ourselves.”

Support Can Come From Many Sources:

  • Trusting friends or family who respect your healing journey and support your boundaries.
  • Therapists trained in attachment trauma, love addiction, or relationship recovery.
  • Specialized recovery and relationship coaches who guide you with structure, reflection, and practical tools.
  • Community groups (12-step, support circles, online forums) where you can share, listen, and belong.

Affirmation for Support and Connection

“I am not meant to heal alone.
Reaching out for support is a strength—not a weakness.
I deserve safe connection that honors my truth and growth.”

Getting Support for Love Addiction

If you suspect you may be struggling with love addiction, consider:

If you feel unsafe and are in a physically abusive relationship, please seek immediate confidential help by reaching out to the National Domestic Violence Hotline; call 1-800-799-(SAFE) 7233 or text “START” to 88788.

If you or someone you love is in crisis, help is available:

πŸ“ž 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (U.S.) — Call or text 988 (24/7, free, confidential)
🌐 988lifeline.org | 🌐 findahelpline.com (International)

6 Additional Ways to Support Love Addiction Recovery

“Recovery isn’t just something that happens to you—it’s something you actively engage with.”

In addition to professional treatment and support systems, there are several essential areas that love addicts can begin to actively focus on to promote long-lasting and sustained recovery. These self-guided efforts complement therapy, deepening insight and accelerating the healing process.

1. Awareness and Acknowledgment

The first and most vital step in recovery is recognizing the problem.

“You cannot change what you do not first acknowledge.”

Many love addicts stay trapped in harmful patterns due to denial, idealization, or emotional confusion. Healing begins when you can:

  • Identify repetitive, unhealthy patterns in love, dating, or relationships.
  • Acknowledge the emotional pain behind obsessive attachment or fantasy bonding.
  • Accept reality over illusion—letting go of idealized or fantasized images of a partner.

2. Self-Care & Identity Rebuilding

A crucial tool in love addiction recovery is the consistent practice of intentional self-care. Recovery isn’t just about letting go of unhealthy attachments—it’s about rediscovering who you are outside of relationships and creating a healthier lifestyle pattern that nurtures your emotional and physical well-being.

Self-Care Matters in Recovery as it Supports:

  • Nervous system regulation.
  • Restoring identity and self-esteem.
  • Activation of "feel-good" neurochemicals like dopamine and serotonin.
  • Reinforcement of the belief: “I matter, even when I’m alone.”

Self-Care Activities That Rebuild Identity:

  • Engaging in hobbies or creative outlets (art, writing, crafts).
  • Exploring new activities or interests to stretch your comfort zone.
  • Physical exercise to boost energy and body confidence (e.g., walking, running, lifting weights, sports).
  • Listening to uplifting, empowering music (avoid romantic love songs if they trigger longing or fantasy).
  • Receiving professional bodywork (massage, acupuncture, etc.).
  • Watching light-hearted, uplifting films or comedies that bring laughter and ease.

Affirmation for Self-Care

"Self-care is not selfish. I am worthy of rest, peace, and moments of joy. I am worthy of prioritizing my well-being and honoring my needs."

3. The Power of Self-Soothing

Self-care and self-soothing are closely intertwined. Self-soothing is the practice of calming your own nervous system and emotions without external validation or rescue. It’s an essential step in becoming emotionally self-reliant and breaking the cycle of dependency on others for comfort, reassurance, or identity.

Effective Self-Soothing Techniques:

  • Journaling your thoughts, emotions, and experiences to gain clarity.
  • Mindfulness or guided meditation to anchor yourself in the present.
  • Breathwork (e.g., 4-7-8 breathing, box breathing) to calm anxiety.
  • Creating a calming ritual (e.g., tea, warm bath, candle, or grounding object).
  • Speaking to your inner child: “You are safe. I’ve got you now. I will help you meet your needs.”

Affirmation for Self-Soothing & Self-Worth

“I am learning to care for myself with compassion. My worth and inner peace do not depend on someone else—I can create comfort, safety, and love within me.”

Reflection: Reclaiming Self-Care

Ask yourself: “When I feel triggered or emotionally overwhelmed, what do I usually turn to—and does it actually comfort me in the end?”

  • What’s one new self-soothing practice I will try this week?
  • What can I do to create a daily routine that reflects the truth that I matter, I am enough?

4. Boundary Work & Self-Worth

A 2025 study published in Frontiers in Psychology highlights a powerful truth: healing from love addiction requires both rebuilding self-esteem and developing strong, functional boundaries in current and future relationships (Wang et al., 2025).

Many love addicts struggle with:

  • Saying "no" without guilt.
  • Recognizing when their boundaries are being crossed.
  • Distinguishing their own reality from their partner’s.
  • Expressing their needs and feelings without fear of abandonment.

Beliefs that often keep the impaired boundary cycle alive—and rob self-worth:

  • “If I set a boundary, they’ll leave.”
  • “If I speak up, I’ll be too much, too needy.”
  • “If I don’t fix their feelings, I’m a bad partner.”

Affirmation for Boundary Healing & Self-Worth

"My needs, feelings, and boundaries matter. I am not responsible for fixing another adult's feelings.
I do not need to earn love by shrinking myself. Each time I speak my truth or set a boundary, I honor who I truly am. I am enough.”

Reflection: Reclaiming My Voice

Take a moment to reflect and journal on the following:

“In what past relationship did I consistently override my own needs, feelings, or boundaries to keep the peace or avoid abandonment?”
  • What did that cost me emotionally or spiritually?
  • What boundary would I set now if I could go back with the self-worth I’m building today?
  • How can I begin practicing that boundary in my life today—however small?

5. Self-Education and Reflective Work

While professional therapy and coaching are central to recovery, self-directed learning and reflection are powerful tools for deepening insight and accelerating your healing journey. The more you understand about love addiction, attachment, and emotional health, the more empowered you become to create lasting change.

Recommended Books for Love Addiction Recovery:

6. Understanding the Neuroscience of Love Addiction is Crucial for Recovery

  • As I mentioned earlier, recognizing that obsessive love is far more than mere emotional dependency or neediness—that it involves brain chemistry—you are not 'crazy' or weak; rather, you are responding to deep attachment wounds and powerful, measurable neurochemical forces that can profoundly help normalize this experience.
  • Understanding the underlying biology of love addiction doesn’t magically cure the problem, but offers clarity, fosters self-compassion, and provides a powerful starting point for genuine recovery.

Key Takeaways: Healing Love Addiction: 

  • There is hope: Love addiction is treatable, healthy change is possible.
  • Healing doesn't mean giving up on love or relationships, but learning to form healthy, secure, balanced connections.
  • Recovery is not a quick fix: Healing takes time, persistence, and professional support.
  • Progress, not perfection: Breaking love addiction is often a non-linear process, and relapse is a natural part of growth.
  • Healing begins with self-awareness: Recognizing unhealthy relationship patterns, understanding trauma bonds, and identifying validation-seeking behaviors.
  • Treatment isn't one-size-fits-all: Healing methods are best tailored to each individual’s history, needs, and attachment style.
  • Most effective recovery-integrated treatment: Combining treatment approaches often yields the best recovery results (e.g., individual counseling, group support, addressing coexisting diagnoses)
  • Best outcomes often occur with integrated treatment, combining methods like counseling, support groups, and addressing coexisting diagnoses.
  • Best outcomes with integrated treatment: Combining treatment approaches often yields the best recovery results (e.g., individual counseling, group support, education).
    * (Zibenberg & Natividade, 2025)

How to Help Someone Struggling with Love Addiction

If someone you care about is struggling with relationship addiction, here are some specific ways to provide help and support.

  • Listen Without Judgment: Love addiction can be challenging to grasp if you've never gone through it. Provide a safe space for them to express their thoughts and feelings without fear of judgment or criticism.
  • Encourage Professional Help: Gently suggest therapy or support groups as a resource for healing (offer them 2 or 3 resources); and/or see a medical doctor. Additionally, you can encourage them to attend free 12-step support groups like LAA, SLAA, or CODA, either online or in person. 
  • Establish Boundaries: While offering support, if you find yourself hearing the same story repeatedly, it’s essential to set respectful boundaries and limit your time. Protecting your own emotional well-being ensures you don’t enable unhealthy patterns while still showing compassion.
  • Educate Yourself: Take the time to learn more about love addiction so you can better understand what your friend or loved one may be experiencing. Compassion starts with awareness.
  • Be patient: They might resist getting help or making changes, but may eventually come around. Ultimately, the responsibility and choice lie with them. They are accountable, not you.

Important: When supporting a loved one, remember you can’t save them or take away their pain. They are ultimately responsible for seeking help. The best thing you can do is be there—listen without judgment. If they ever share suicidal thoughts, take it seriously: talk to trusted loved ones and contact a crisis hotline for immediate assistance.

Conclusion

If you find yourself completely gripped and obsessed with a person, and it's profoundly affecting your daily life and emotional well-being, then it might be time to assess your relationship with love and consider professional treatment.

Love addiction isn't a moral failing. It's an early coping pattern that developed from unmet emotional needs—your way of surviving, not a reflection of your inherent worth. The behaviors you engaged in were your best attempts to meet essential needs like love, security, and connection with the resources you had at the time. This doesn't define who you are—it simply reveals where growth and healing are needed.

The good news? Healing is absolutely possible. You can recover from love addiction.

Therapy, group support, attachment-focused coaching, and other comprehensive treatment approaches are vital and powerful tools in this recovery process. Related Reading: πŸ‘‰ 20 Realities I Experienced While Recovering from Love Addiction πŸ‘‰ Learn About My Story: My Journey from Heartbreak to Healthy Love

The ultimate goal of recovery isn't to give up on love—it's to redefine love in a way that’s healthy, secure, and emotionally authentic. It's about breaking free from toxic cycles and creating space for relationships founded on mutual respect, emotional safety, and genuine intimacy.

While healing often involves more than willpower and doesn't happen overnight, remember that no worthwhile change is easy. Having navigated this journey myself and now, for over a decade, specializing in helping others recover, I know it will require patience and persistence. Though challenging, recovery is deeply worthwhile and profoundly transformative—a journey of self-discovery, growth, and ultimately, lasting gratitude.

If this article resonated with you, know that you're not alone. The journey to healthy love begins with understanding and courage. As famous psychologists like Carl Rogers and Virginia Satir have emphasized, human beings possess an innate capacity to change, even in the most challenging conditions. Realize that you have the capacity to change.

Empower yourself and take the first step toward healing today. Be kind to yourself. Seek the help for love addiction you truly deserve.

You deserve more than pain and emotional chaos.
You deserve real love. You are worth it.

Please note: The content in this article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. For medical advice or diagnoses, consult a qualified healthcare professional.

βœ… Ready to Break Free from Love Addiction?

Work with me 1 to 1.

✨ Start Your Healing Journey Here

Love Addiction Books & Workbooks by Jim Hall, M.S.

The Love Addict in Love Addiction
A comprehensive exploration of the dynamics between love addicts and love avoidants, offering insights into the origins of addictive relationships and pathways to healing.

Surviving Love Withdrawal: The Breakup Workbook for Love Addicts
This workbook provides evidence-based tools and exercises to help individuals overcome the painful symptoms of love withdrawal and move toward recovery.

Gateway to Recovery: A Beginner's Guide to Breaking Love Addiction
Designed for those new to the concept of love addiction, this guide offers clear direction and strategies to initiate the recovery journey.

Articles to Support Recovery from Love Addiction:

Final Thoughts

Love addiction isn’t a flaw—it’s a survival pattern born from unmet emotional needs, not a measure of your worth. If you feel consumed by thoughts of someone and it’s hurting your well-being, it’s time to look at your relationship with love and consider professional help. 

With the right support, recovery is possible. The ultimate goal of recovery isn't to give up on love—it's to redefine love in a way that’s healthy, secure, and emotionally authentic.Through therapy, group support, or attachment-focused coaching, you can free yourself from toxic cycles and open the door to emotional health and fulfilling connections.

While healing doesn't happen overnight, remember that no worthwhile change is easy. Having navigated this journey myself and now, for over a decade, specializing in helping others recover, I know it will require patience and persistence. Though challenging, recovery is deeply worthwhile and profoundly transformative—a journey of self-discovery, growth, and ultimately, lasting gratitude.

As famous psychologists like Carl Rogers and Virginia Satir have emphasized, human beings possess an innate capacity to change, even in the most challenging conditions. Realize that you have the capacity to change.

Empower yourself and take the first step toward healing today. Be kind to yourself. Seek the help for love addiction you truly deserve.

You are worth it.

Please note: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Consult a qualified healthcare professional for diagnosis or treatment.

 

References – Click to Expand

 

 

Author: Jim Hall, MS

Drawing on a Master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and over 15 years as a former therapist,Β Jim Hall is now a leading Love Addiction and Attachment Recovery Coach. He empowers individuals to heal insecure attachment, escape toxic relationship cycles, and build healthy, lasting connections. Jim is also the author of books and articles featured on this site.

πŸ’¬ Work with Jim and break free! Explore 1-on-1 Coaching here.

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