by Lorelei Cohen

Created on: September 27, 2010

Love junkie is a term which is unfortunately becoming more common place in today's modern world. A love junkie is someone who gets off on the emotional high that comes along with being in love. They are so addicted to the blissful sensations associated with new love that they are never able to maintain a long term relationship. As soon as a relationship's intense emotions begin to wane then the love junkie moves on.

When you fall in love there are a number of chemical reactions that occur within the brain. A small protein known as Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) rapidly increases in numbers. This sets off a chain reaction within the brain. Norepinephrine is released which in turn causes an increased production of adrenaline in the brain. This causes the person in love to become more excited, edgy, and intense. While the release of a chemical known as phenylethalimine causes a feeling of bliss to flow throughout the body. Another feel good chemical released is dopamine. While Oxytocin, which is the primary sexual arousal hormone, creates warm feelings of sexual attraction and attachment.

Once these chemicals are released they can remain in the brain for up to a year after the first initial assault. These combined chemicals give the person in love an emotional high which leaves them grinning, acting perfectly silly, and giddy with excitement. This chemical high is what a love junkie is addicted to.

A love junkie sincerely believes that this emotional high is love, and that once it begins to wane, that there is no longer love in the relationship. Where as most individuals move into a deeper, more caring relationship at this point, the love junkie moves on. Disappointed in the lack of intensity within the relationship, the love junkie believes that the love has died, and moves off in their never ending search for love.

What they do not know is that what they are searching for does not exist, and if they are aware, then they simply do not care. They are addicted to the intense chemical high that comes with each new love and so that is what they search for.

With the stigma of divorce less intense, relationships easier to leave, and Internet dating making relationships easier to find the love junkie can easily feed his/her addiction. Is this an acceptable way to approach love? Probably not in the viewpoint of those who are hurt in the wake of this form of destructive love.

To the love junkie though it is probably a very acceptable way to live. The time spent hurting from the pain of a break up may only last a month or two, while the intense high of falling in love will last about a year, so the payoff may seem worth it. There are some negative aspects to his / her addiction, but there is also that wonderful blissful high which makes the nasty aspects of the addiction seem tolerable, and isn't that virtually the way in which every junkie accounts for their habit?

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