Is There Really Such a Thing As Love Infatuation?

We all experience love at different times and in different ways. For example, you can have loving feelings for your pet cat when she scratches your face with her claws, but that type of love is different from loving feelings you may have toward your child who is very sick and is crying a lot. You might feel loved by your spouse, but you might feel unloved by your best friend. It is difficult sometimes to know how to love. Let me explain.

First, love has two elements physical and emotional. Love encompasses a broad range of positive and negative emotional and physical states, from the sublime to the darkest intimate sexual emotion, the most passionate personal relationship, or the lowest level of social attachment. Emotions are usually of two types of positive and negative. Positive emotions, which include happiness, joy and optimism, are accompanied by physical feelings such as pleasure and excitement.

Positive emotions accompany feelings of pride, trust, respect, and caring. Negative emotions accompany anger, hate, fear, envy, resentment, depression, self-pity, addiction, resentment, boredom, and loneliness. People experience love in varying degrees, ranging from intensely personal to impersonal, intimate, spiritual and sexual. A sexual intimacy is one way people experience love. Some couples engage in an expression of love by having sexual intimacy while other couples go beyond the intimacy and have a romantic love that is expressed through friendship, common interests and companionship.

Some people have intense, personal, romantic, or erotic feelings. In those cases, they may not be feeling any deeper affection toward another person. They may not be expressing deep affection and may not be having a love affair.

Loving someone implies more than just being in love with them. The emotional bond that develops between two people is what matters in the long run. The emotional connection as well as the depth of the commitment in a relationship are important for healthy relationships. If the commitment is not enduring then the relationship is unhealthy and there are likely to be difficulties and problems.

The difference between infatuation and love lies in infatuation being a result of lust and love being a result of attachment. The former occurs as a result of physical attraction, while the later occurs as a result of love, compassion, trust, respect, and care. A person in love does not have lustful thoughts and desires. He or she does not think about being lusted over or having any sexual desire for another person. Instead, he or she is in love and considers other people’s love and attachment as deeply personal and unique to him/herself.