Why Is There A Rise In Obsessive Love?
Different parents have different views on teenage dating. While some are for it, others are against it. However, we don’t need to deceive ourselves. Whether you’re against it or not, your teenager will still do what he or she pleases as the spirit leads.
Now, while some teenagers don’t consider dating, others feel it is an integral part of growing up. It could also be that they are simply rebellious or they succumbed to peer pressure.
Teens can be pretty intense about friendships and opposite-sex relationships. While this might seem cute, it can become a matter of great concern.
What is obsessive love?
Obsessive love is a condition in which one person feels an overwhelming desire to possess and protect another person toward whom one feels a strong attraction, with an inability to accept failure or rejection. Some people argue that obsessive love is considered to be a mental illness.
Depending on the intensity of their attraction, obsessive lovers may feel entirely unable to restrain themselves from extreme behaviors such as acts of violence toward themselves or others.
There are numerous stories of how teenagers love obsessively. Recently, a teenager committed suicide after sending illicit Snapchat pictures to her boyfriend. We hear different stories and wonder why such things happen.
Why do teenagers make this rash decisions all in the name of love?
- Most teenagers love obsessively because they don’t know what a truly healthy relationship is supposed to feel like. This is not surprising given the very unrealistic portrayals of love in movies, TV, music and on social media. There is this idea that we have one soul mate and that real love stories are supposed to be filled with obstacles and drama. While this makes for good entertainment, it isn’t real life.
- Love addiction springs from painful pasts
A person who struggles with love addiction often has very serious pain in their past. Perhaps they were neglected as a child, maybe mom and dad were absentee parents or were struggling so much between themselves that neither was able to focus on their offspring. However it happened, the child was not nurtured. - Broken peer relationships can also spark a love addition. Friendships that go south can leave a child feeling used and somehow inadequate. In one way or another, the child has felt isolated and abandoned, and grows up with lots of inner pain and rejection.
(See signs and symptoms of obsessive love/love addiction)
How do you teach your children to love?
As parents, we need to make a conscious decision to be role models for our children in every area of their lives, especially when it comes to how to love. Children tend to learn more from what they see than what they are told to do. (Do you know that how you love your spouse affects your kids?)
Parents need to take some time to talk with their teen about relationships, sexuality and personal identity. Teach teens how to engage in healthy relationships (friendships or opposite sex relationships) and how to achieve their own full potential.
