Yes, Love Can Indeed Make You a Little (or Lot) Crazy
Updated: May 30
Therefore, it is difficult to experience passionate love in the absence of at least some psychological pain. When unrequited (or frustrated), passionate love will reliably engender a sense of emptiness – and even despair. -- Dr. Frank Tallis, clinical psychologist
If you have experienced rejection by the object of your affections (and who hasn't at least once?), you have undoubtedly experienced the emotional and psychological upset that has been the inspiration and fodder for any number of poems, short stories, books, and sappy love songs. Doubtless most people are familiar with the word "lovesick" and I expect that most people have been "lovesick" at some point in their life. And yet, how many people have given the experience of being lovesick serious consideration as something more than just some temporary discomfort that heals in time and doesn't amount to much in the way of significant suffering and a capacity to wreak havoc in one's life. Yet, unrequited love and love lost has undoubtedly led to lives ended prematurely and, probably more often, lives not lived to their potential in terms of happiness and achievement.
It is clear that in earlier times the physicians and learned men and women of their day took heartbreak and lovesickness seriously. But I would venture to say that outside of the modern field of psychiatry/psychology, over time and with a shift in thinking to a scientific focus on what can be perceived and measured, it stopped getting much attention or recognition as something "real." Of course, now with more attention being paid to emotional and psychological health and wellness, we appear to have once again grasped that the mind and one's outlook can indeed have effects on the body and that the state of the body can influence the mind. And we appear to have once again understood that health is a holistic thing that includes the health of the mind and of the spirit.
Below is a link to an article by Dr. Frank Tallis, a clinical psychologist, that looks at the condition of being lovesick and even how today's modern clinical treatments for someone that is lovesick align with earlier cures. I have utilized such techniques outside of a clinical setting and they definitely help, as does the passage of time. With that being said, you have to acknowledge that the suffering is real and that, if you need help, there is no shame in seeking out such help any more than there is shame in seeking medical treatment for a physical ailment, disease, or injury. The article is relatively short and it is a quick read. Give it a look and maybe pass it on to a family member or a friend.
Comments