![\"Couple](\"https:\/\/image.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/New-Project-2022-02-24T175746.507.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
We’ve heard many people describe their love as addicting. Or say that they are addicted to their partner or spouse.<\/span><\/p>\n People even use this word in songs, showing how deep one’s love is. However, it’s wrong to associate the word addiction with the<\/span> feeling of love<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Addiction is described as a great interest in something in particular. Often, it makes it hard for this person to think clearly and only focuses on their addiction.<\/span><\/p>\n Unfortunately, addictive relationships exist.<\/span><\/p>\n It’s not the ‘addiction’ that we often hear in songs about being deeply in love. <\/span>Relationship addiction<\/span><\/a> is something else, and it’s far more common than you think it is.<\/span><\/p>\n Can you be addicted to a person?<\/span><\/p>\n The answer here is yes. An addictive relationship is when you fall in love so deeply that you begin to lose yourself in the process.<\/span><\/p>\n Addictive relationships can happen to only one partner or both. But most of the time, when this happens, the person who exhibits addiction stops taking care of their personal needs and will only focus on their partner.<\/span><\/p>\n Emotional addiction to a person is no different from being addicted to drugs.<\/span><\/p>\n What is an addictive relationship? What makes it different from a<\/span> healthy relationship<\/span><\/a>?<\/span><\/p>\n A person who is in addictive relationships feels incomplete, unhappy, desperate, and even insecure. This is the exact opposite if you are in a healthy relationship.<\/span><\/p>\n Being in a relationship with an addict for love will give everything, to the point of being obsessive. They aim to be with the person they love.<\/span><\/p>\n They want to make their partners happy feel loved, and they want to show how much they love their partners that it becomes unhealthy.<\/span><\/p>\n As these people drain themselves of their <\/span>self-love<\/span><\/a> and self-worth, they begin to feel emptier.<\/span><\/p>\n Addictive behaviors in relationships start with pure intentions.<\/span><\/p>\n You fall in love, and you want this person to feel the love you have to offer. <\/span>Being in a relationship<\/span><\/a> and being happy in love is the ultimate goal.<\/span><\/p>\n Of course, every relationship also has trials.<\/span><\/p>\n A healthy relationship will talk, understand, and work together. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case with addictive relationships.<\/span><\/p>\n They feel extreme emotions and fail to communicate. When this happens, the person experiencing addiction will obsessively think about their partner.<\/span><\/p>\n They become ‘high’ with happiness when they are okay yet succumb to sadness and depression when there’s a problem.<\/span><\/p>\n Over time, they would focus all their energy, time, and happiness on their relationship and partner. It becomes an addictive relationships cycle that will eventually destroy their self-respect, self-love, and even self-compassion.<\/span><\/p>\n What happens when you allow yourself to get lost in the love that you thought would make you a better person?<\/span><\/p>\n When you mix addiction and relationships, your love may turn into a toxic one. <\/span><\/p>\n Here are some of the characteristics of addictive relationships:<\/span><\/p>\n If you feel that you are in addictive relationships or someone you know does, it helps to know the signs.<\/span><\/p>\n If you can relate to the signs below, you might be in an addictive relationship.<\/span><\/p>\n Here are 25 signs of addictive relationships:<\/b><\/p>\n It’s normal to have issues in a relationship, but with addictive relationships, the problems become too frequent and too damaging.<\/span><\/p>\n Problems in a relationship<\/span><\/a> can strengthen the couple when they solve them together. It requires patience, understanding, love, maturity, and communication.<\/span><\/p>\n However, when the couple is just focusing on the recurring issues, and it doesn’t lead them anywhere, then it becomes toxic. The relationship can be described as complicated, more than harmonious.<\/span><\/p>\n Addictive personalities and relationships have similarities to <\/span>substance abuse<\/span><\/a>; in the sense that you get addicted to the ‘happy’ or high moments. Then, you have issues again, and then you fall hard.<\/span><\/p>\n It’s called an addictive relationships cycle, where someone gets addicted to the love and pain that the relationship brings.<\/span><\/p>\n A person addicted to love feels like when they are feeling pain, it’s worth the battle to feel the ‘happy’ or high moments again. So they hold on, even if it hurts.<\/span><\/p>\n When you’re in love, you always think of your special someone, right.<\/span><\/p>\n It brings you happiness, inspiration, and that <\/span>feeling of butterflies in your stomach. <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n That’s one of the best feelings, but when you are stuck in addictive relationships, your mind becomes obsessed with the thought of your lover.<\/span><\/p>\n You can delay work, a meal, and even your sleep to monitor your loved one, think about your future, what your issues are, and what this person is doing every moment.<\/span><\/p>\n What if your boyfriend is doing overtime or is away for an out-of-town project, and you are filled with thoughts of him accompanied by anxiety?<\/span><\/p>\n This is one of the signs of relationship addiction.<\/span><\/p>\n You might feel that he can meet someone new or have a good time and is no longer thinking of you. These thoughts are not healthy and are destructive.<\/span><\/p>\n These thoughts can get worst and will take up literally your whole day.<\/span><\/p>\n The sad part is when you’re consumed, it can already affect how you think and talk to your partner.<\/span><\/p>\n Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes, a clinical psychotherapist, discusses the reality of having relationship insecurities:<\/b><\/p>\n<\/span>How do you define an addictive relationship?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/span>What is the psychology behind addictive relationships?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/span>What are the different characteristics of an addictive relationship?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/span>25 Signs that you’re trapped in an addictive relationship<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
1. You always have issues<\/b><\/h3>\n
2. Your love is inconsistent<\/b><\/h3>\n
![\"Beautiful](\"https:\/\/image.marriage.com\/advice\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/New-Project-2022-02-24T175813.431.jpg\")
<\/p>\n3. You always think about your love and partner non-stop<\/b><\/h3>\n
4. You always feel insecure and nervous<\/b><\/h3>\n
Related Reading:<\/i><\/b> What is Relationship Anxiety and How can you Deal with it?<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/pre>\n