Love or mental illness?

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Has anyone thought that some of the feelings/emotions & thought process when being in love seem a lot like symptoms of mental disorders When I was in love years ago I was obsessed; I had a hard time thinking about anything else but her. I was very emotional & sensitive; it felt kinda like a roller-coaster ride. I felt bad when I wasn't with her. I felt & thought about things in a different way then I normally did; I was believing things I normally would of been quite skeptical of, I liked things I normally didn't like ect. I was kind of dysfunctional in some ways(more so than I was before). I had a mental breakdown when things ended; I seemed like the classic profile of bipolar disorder but it was really psychotic depression. Some have suggested that I was the way I was in the relationship because I was suffering from mental problems & not love. I was sure I loved her then & that is the one thing in my life that I ever been certain of & still am. I'm wondering if being in love could be a mental illness? & if love isn't a mental illness; how can you know the difference between being in love & having serious mental problems?

Probably it is...

Sometimes I feel thus also.

My reply is worthless, please ignore it...

Without doubt Love is a mental illness.

Most people I met in the bin were put there by it

Maybe what you're referring to is limerence?

Love is a delusion that is shared by two people who each believe that the other person is more important than any of the other 3.5 billion meat-bags wandering the Earth. Love is also a by-product of a flood of hormones and endorphins on the brain that induces erratic behavior, euphoria, separation anxiety, lust, and sudden mood swings.

It's all about chemicals and psychology.

"I've grown accustomed to your face."

Love is a choice you make. You can't control mental illness.

A psychologist named Tennov wrote a book about what she called "Limerence"; in other words Mad Love. As I understand it, her research-based opinion is that Limerence is not unhealthy as such, but it can potentially lead to psychological problems. If the person you are crazy about is crazy about you, your shared emotions could eventually give way to something more lasting and less derranged.

In my opinion, the difference between limerence and something dangerous is that limerence doesn't make you *delusional*. If you've made a break with reality, that's when it becomes impossible to control yourself. Limerence makes you hope until it hurts that the person is in love with you, but when rejection happens, limerence will end. Of course, resolving an unrequited limerance may require you to deal with an equally strong depression.

That does make sense. I felt like I was drugged, hit on the head, under some kinda voodoo magic, or bit by a love-bug.


I did not chose to fall in love but choices I made allowed it to happen just as choices I've made caused me to have mental problems.


Could you define/explain delusional?
The rezone I'm thinking about this now is because the way I felt then; I'm feeling now for a celebrity crush. I know the difference between fantasy & reality & I'm NOT about to do anything crazy, anything dangerous or anything. Taking any action to try & make it happen would be bad so the worst I'm doing is annoying people online by obsessively talking about it & hooping against hope for a miracle. I KNOW how crazy that sounds which is why I think those love feelings are related to mental issues. If it's related to mental issues now it seems likely that it was mental issues then & if it was mental issues then; Was the love I felt even real in the 1st place? If it is all mental issues; the one time in my life when I was truly happy must of been a delusion rite? & if that's the case; Am I really wanting a relationship or am I wanting insanity?

I disagree. You chose to leave yourself open to falling in love. Thus... love is a choice.

Did you choose to leave yourself open to mental illness?

I don't think I was open to falling in love but I did anyways. There wasn't a choice; it just happened. I wish I could explain it better.
I allowed myself to be open to mental illness by allowing myself to get so swept up in it.

First... you don't have much of a choice when it comes to mental illness. Your perception of reality is often altered so you cannot think logically. I seriously doubt you did anything to cause whatever illness you suffer from

Second... the choice to fall in love isn't always a conscious one. Some people are naturally open to it, whereas others may not be. You make the choice not to close yourself off from it, or you make the choice to open yourself up to it.

Obviously, once you're in love things get complicated. You can't make love just go away once it's there. That doesn't mean it doesn't all begin with a choice.

Are you sure? Are you certain it wasn't because they stalked people or something?

Right. Stalkers are mentally ill. They are not in love.

Some could of been in love but at some point they developed major mental problems like OCD, Schizophrenia, Erotomania. or other delusional disorders. I've researched stalking psychology a bit because some are worried that I'm a potential one I do have a tenancy to get obsessed but I know the difference between reality & fantasy & I genuinely care very deeply & stalking causes harm

What makes you think I haven't studied it? There are a couple different types of stalkers, but one thing they all have in common is obsession. Obsession =/= love. They *think* they are in love due to their delusions, but that's it.

Sorry if it sounded like I implied you didn't. How can someone know the difference between being obsessed & being in love? Or being in love & obsessed vs being severely obsessed without love?