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Love addiction, part 2

Last, I wrote that love addicts and avoidants develop unhealthy patterns of dependency, distance, chaos, and often abuse.  In this article, I will describe the types of love addiction.

The types of love addiction are:
* Obsessed love addiction: This type of addiction comes with the inability to live independently from another person, or a feeling of possession.  The person may continue the obsession years after the relationship has ended.
* Codependency addiction: This type spins around the desired person.  The partner’s life is the focus, not the love addict.
* Relationship addiction: This often manifests as an addiction to the idea of having a relationship, instead of the development of an authentic relationship. There are two types: those who are constantly in and out of relationships and those who will not let go of a bad relationship for the sake of having a healthy relationship.
* Narcissistic love addiction: This type is all about the love addict, not about the person of affection.
* Ambivalent love addiction:  Having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about someone is what this love addict encounters.
* Romance addiction: This can represent itself as an obsession over romance itself, including, but not limited to adventure and passion. People suffering with this type of love addiction worry about romantic rituals such as dates, dinner, sex, and everything else that has to do with a passing romance. This can often be a living out of the person's individual fantasies. A typical example is the legendary Don Juan. The love addict will seek seduction and conquest, but quickly tire of it.

By Renee Madison, MA, LPC, CSAT

Renee has offices in Westminster and Fort Collins, Colorado.  Her work number is 303-257-7623 and 970-324-6928
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