Relationship Addictions

Ever heard of love addicts? Well, one may not have thought “love addiction” was possible, but it has been added to the mounting list of “addictions”. Yes, food addiction, drug addiction, and work addiction is somewhat acceptable, but being addict with love? It sounds so bizarre, yet so real. Being addicted to love is simply an added form of another obsession called “relationship addiction”.

Relationship addiction is the harmful dependency on others, which is frequently connected with feelings of “never having enough love” or “not being adequate for love” because most people don’t get their needs met in a logical manner. The call for sharing love is right, but because some aspects in life have instilled idealistic need for others, people become needy, anxious, parasitic, or addictive with love. And when they have it, they dislike it no matter how it comes out. The search for a partner or relationship that would fix the fear, distress, and pain, which results to tolerance or infliction of abusive behaviors during the course, becomes a relationship addiction that can be toxic and debilitating.

Relationship addiction can or cannot consist of romantic or sexual factors. The relationship addiction may be towards important people in their lives such as parents, child, a boss, a lover, or a spouse, which they unconsciously get fixated with. The key aspect is how the person feels when the people they have a relationship with, disagree with them, or disapproves them, or moves away from them. It triggers a feeling of “threat” and becomes a cause of their pain and frustration.

Relationship addiction should not be taken lightly as they can be very incapacitating and fatal at times. A lot of people who commit suicide every day are caused by the feelings of frustration, pain, and despair resulting from a love one who has left them, or has loved someone else, or does not love them anymore. The wrath of a relationship addiction can also cause a person to inflict violent physical harm to the other person who has made them feel so miserable to give relief to themselves.

Let’s face it, the very satisfying and good emotions that a person feels when he or she is in love can be very addictive, and when those feelings are taken away from them, they feel horrendous pain and that nothing can make that pain go away for good. People who are so in love and develop a relationship addiction, give away the control of their feelings completely to another, which becomes the reason for them to be dependent of how they feel on the other person, they feel happy and loved when given what they need, and they feel angry and discontented when they do not.

Relationship addiction is a very serious condition that should be dealt with once experienced, the only possibility of overcoming it is through effective therapy, medications, and other available professional assistance. The willingness and commitment to get over relationship addiction is an essential factor to recovery.