by Opal Minott

Created on: February 24, 2010

The generally accepted meaning of ‘love’ in the proverb ‘love is blind’ is the romantic variety. It has its roots in the Greek term Eros which describes the emotional and physical attraction between a male and a female. Eros is usually consummated through sexual intercourse. Romantic love is characterised by the conviction that time spent with the beloved is ‘special and separate from the experiences of all the other people in the world. It is a time they savour and return to in their memories again and again…they describe the world as transformed. But the biggest change was in the way they felt about themselves. Suddenly they had more energy and a healthier outlook on life. They felt wittier, more playful, and more optimistic. When they look in the mirror, they had anew fondness for the face that looked back at them…’(Hendrix1990 :47)

      ‘At the peak of their love relationships, these intense good feelings radiated outward, and people become more loving and accepting of everyone. Some were even blessed with a heightened spiritual awareness, a feeling of inner unity and a sense of being connected with nature that they hadn’t experienced since childhood.’(Hendrix1990:48)

      This kind of love has also been found to have a chemical component which accounts for the rush of good feelings experienced under its influence. ‘Psycho pharmacologists have learned that lovers are literally high on drugs- natural hormones and chemicals that flood their bodies with a sense of well being. During the attraction phase of a relationship, the brain releases dopamine and nor epinephrine, two of the body’s many neurotransmitters. These neurotransmitters help contribute to a rosy outlook on life, a rapid pulse, increased energy, and a sense of heightened perception. During this phase, when lovers want to be together every moment of the day, the brain increases its production of endorphins and enkephalins, natural narcotics, enhancing a person’s sense of security and comfort.’ (Hendrix1990:49)

      Another important feature of romantic love is denial ‘Whenever life presents us with a difficult or painful situation, we have a tendency to want to ignore reality and create a more palatable fantasy. But there is no time in our lives when our denial mechanism is more fully engaged than in the early stages of

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