A neuroscientist explains how to break free from romantic infatuation
Navied Mahdavian for NPR
Have you ever been so consumed by a crush that you couldn't stop thinking about them? Or when you weren't around them, you felt sick to your stomach?
There's a word for that, and it's called "limerence." The term was coined by the psychologist Dorothy Tennov in the 1970s to describe romantic obsession characterized by extreme emotional highs and lows.
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Neuroscientist Tom Bellamy explores the condition in Smitten: Romantic Obsession, the Neuroscience of Limerence and How to Make Love Last . The book, published in April, offers a roadmap for those looking to overcome infatuation and foster healthy romantic relationships.
"Limerence is a state that many of us go into in the early stages of love: a profound romantic infatuation with another per
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