Aspects of psychodynamic neuropsychiatry IV: love, ripe fruit, and other addictions.

Abstract

Passionate love is a powerful emotional/biological force. So too is heart-break a powerful emotional/biological force. This article studies the neurobiological underpinnings of the two. The argument is that passionate love is best understood not as an affective dysregulation but rather as an addiction. And similarly that heart-break is best understood, and treated, not as an affective dysregulation but as an addiction. Clinical examples are given.