Love is a feeling that makes us feel great. It is the reason we forgive our partner when they are late, push ourselves to finish a creative project or dream about getting that promotion at work. It is also the reason we are so invested in our favorite sports team or the people in our lives. Despite its positive impact, this emotion can also make us sad. It can be difficult to define and understand what is so special about love.
In some cases, a person’s feelings may be so overwhelming that they can’t be explained. These are often called irrational love. Love can also be irrational when we love someone or something that is not good for us, like a drug or an addiction. This type of love can cause problems in our lives because it is based on a false belief that our loved ones can never hurt or wrong us.
One thing is for sure – we all have different ideas about what love is. Some think it’s a feeling, some believe that it’s a choice and others are convinced that it is an innate human need. While the concept of love can be complicated, researchers have tried to understand it by studying the brain and body. They have found that there are specific hormones involved in the experience of love, and that it is influenced by our beliefs.
While the majority of people believe that love is a positive feeling, it can also be devastating when it ends. It is a complex emotion that can be hard to understand, but the more you learn about it, the easier it will be to navigate through the ups and downs.
Some people have a very romantic view of love, where it feels like walking on air or floating with the clouds. This love is usually short-lived, however, because we quickly become disillusioned when we find out that our beloved is not as perfect as they appeared at first.
Others are able to move past the unrealistic expectations of romantic love and focus on companionate and familial love. These types of relationships can last longer than romantic ones because they offer support and stability in times of need.
Many psychologists have studied the nature of love and its effects on the brain in order to better understand it. In the early days of psychological research on love, there was much controversy, with some politicians even arguing against the use of taxpayer dollars to fund it. Freud said that “love is not a disease, but it can be a very serious illness” (Levine, 2005).
In recent years, researchers have shifted the way they look at love and relationship. They now know that there are at least six different styles of love, and that our relationship style is determined by genetics, personality and past experiences. For example, some people who are high in dark traits such as narcissism and psychopathy have a more lust-based relationship style while those with a stronger sense of empathy tend to be more companionate.
