Happy Valentine’s Day –
Feb 10, 2019 – What kind of disorder is love addiction?
There is no consensus on the diagnostic criteria for love addiction, nor agreements on what kind of disorder it is. For instance, pathological love may be an impulse-control disorder—characterized by impulsivity and novelty-seeking. Others believe pathological love is a mood disorder. Presumably, people with love addiction experience mood states (e.g., hypomania and elation) similar to those who are falling in love or are in the early stages of intense romantic love. Another possibility is that love addiction belongs to the obsessive-compulsive spectrum; like people with obsessions, those with love addiction might experience repetitive and intrusive thoughts—except that their obsessions will be related to the person they love and not, say, health or cleanliness concerns.
