"Anna checks her phone dozens of times a day, waiting for a message that never seems to come. A glance, a pause, or even a single word from the man she desires is enough to keep her awake at night, spinning stories in her mind. She knows it feels out of control, yet she cannot stop replaying their last interaction, searching for clues of what he might feel."
"Limerence is not just a crush, nor is it the beginning of healthy love. It is an intense and consuming experience marked by obsessive thoughts, intrusive fantasies, emotional highs and lows, and a strong desire for emotional reciprocation. What makes limerence so disruptive is not only the depth of feeling but the way it takes over the psyche, leaving little room for work, relationships, or any sense of inner peace."
"Unlike ordinary attraction, limerence does not naturally fade. A crush will dissolve over time if unreciprocated, and healthy love either matures into secure attachment or gently shifts into something else. Limerence, however, lingers. It thrives in ambiguity, and it can endure for months, years, or even decades. The emotional swings can be extreme. A smile or message may trigger euphoria, while silence or distance can cause panic or despair."
Limerence is an intense, consuming state of longing and obsessive love characterized by intrusive thoughts, compulsive fantasies, emotional highs and lows, and a yearning for emotional reciprocation. Limerence overrides normal functioning and concentration, interfering with work, relationships, and inner peace. Limerence persists in ambiguity and can endure months, years, or decades, unlike ordinary crushes or healthy love that mature or fade. Emotional swings in limerence produce euphoria in response to perceived signs of interest and panic or despair in response to silence or distance. Clinical recognition remains limited, and research into limerence is still in its infancy.
Read at Psychology Today
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]