Love Addiction

If you found this page, you might wonder, what is love addiction? For most, love addiction is a strong need for emotional connection, coupled with a fear of rejection, while basing his or her self-worth on the opinions of romantic partners. Love addiction usually stems from a lack of important needs being met during childhood, such as physical safety, nurture, and expressions of love. Failure to have these basic needs met affects self-worth, causing a person to look to others for validation, safety, and self-esteem.

Love addiction affects each person differently. For some, the strong fear of rejection and abandonment cause them to stay away from committed relationships, instead favoring short flings or one-night-stands. For others, this same fear can lead to continuing in harmful, even dangerous relationships. At Tacoma Christian Counseling, we can help you better understand your individual experience with love addiction, so you can work towards healthy relationships with yourself and others.

People often don’t realize that they are “addicted to love.” If you’re concerned that you or a loved one might suffer from love addiction, we encourage you to get help. Generally, if you struggle with an overwhelming need for emotional connection, often fear being alone, or look to sexual encounters to make you feel whole or valued, then you might have love addiction. Sadly, the same desires often cause a person to miss out on good, healthy relationships because of fear of real commitment, issues with infidelity, or staying in relationships that are not healthy or fulfilling.

You might suffer from love addiction if:

• You become obsessive over finding love or over an individual.
• You have difficulty thinking about anything but love or sexual fantasies.
• You equate love and relationships with your self-worth.
• Being in a relationship dominates your time over friends and family.
• Your relationships often lack real intimacy and you are often jealous.
• You become codependent easily.
• You or your partner (or both) use love as a form of control.
• You confuse sexually intense experiences with love.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your mind. – Deuteronomy 6:5

Real love isn’t for which something you can look to the world. Though we are wired for real, substantial connection with others, equating your self-worth with things like romantic relationships or sex is dangerous to your physical, emotional, and spiritual health. For real love that will never let you down, Jesus Christ is the way to go. The goal of Christian counseling for love addiction is to help you draw nearer to God, so you can find love for yourself and for the Lord. In doing so, you will be able to heal wounds of the past, overcome unhealthy ideas about love and sex, and gain skills for growing fulfilling relationships that last.

At Tacoma Christian Counseling, our CSAT counselors and other experienced sexual addiction counselors will help you overcome the tight bonds of love addiction. To learn more or to schedule an appointment, contact us online or give us a call at (253) 777-1997.