A number
of psychologists have described some forms
of love just as you have: like an addiction; there is
intense desire to spend time with the
object of our
affection, we experience
intense cravings, emotional dependence, mood swings, and even loss
of control and compulsive behaviors.1 In one study utilizing fMRI technology (brain imaging), subcortical reward systems in the brain were activated when adults viewed photographs
of someone who had rejected their love; 2 this part
of the brain is the same area that lights up when people experience
intense, romantic love3 and is rich in dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter associated with rewards like pleasure.