Obsessive Love or obsessive love disorder is a type of love we call love addiction, where intense infatuation and compulsive behaviors can sabatoge romantic relationships.
But it can go even beyond mere relational sabatoge.
Obsessive Love can also have an extremely dangerous side to it, something I call Pathological Obsessive Love, where not only is it obsessive and destructive, but so extreme and pathological that it results in some of the worst evil acts committed in the name of "love.”
Love addicts understand that “love” (addictive love) can make you do and think some crazy things, but murder in the name of “love” is a whole other story.
This connection between pathological obsessive love and murder is the most disastrous and consequential side of love addiction.
Think about this, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation crime reports, in 2011, over 10% of murders in the United States were committed by the victim’s lover (FBI 2011).
A majority of addictive relationships never lead to violence and/or murder by a relationship partner. Unfortunately, a small percentage of them do.
Yet, that small minority can add up to many thousands (perhaps tens of thousands) of lives lost each year which occur around the world.
Pathological Love -- Obsessive, Dangerous, & Extreme… More common than you may think!
For most us it is, truly hard to conceive killing a person, let alone killing a loved one, such as a partner, spouse, or child.
Yet, not a day goes by of a story about a pathological lover who murders their male or female lover out of dangerous passion, jealousy, and/or obsession— typically triggered by a real or threatened breakup or divorce. In many cases, a murder of a lover includes their children, relatives, or even friends.
The following is an example of pathological obsessive love (a brief piece of the story):
HEADLINE: Father kills wife, self, children at home:
A man shot to death his wife and 18-month-old twins and then killed himself Sunday after a bitter quarrel with his estranged wife, police said.
The lawyer, killed his children, Sofia and Danny, with a single shot each before taking his own life, police said…
Billick's wife, Joan Brown, 35, had called police hours earlier Sunday… saying her husband was threatening violence... when she told him she was leaving with the children.
This is just one example. But you can find countless stories such as this on the internet and for any given week, month, or year; in almost any country, city, or town.