Think It’s Love or Just Obsession? Why Limerence Feels Real but Isn’t
Limerence is an intense emotional state that feels like love but is actually rooted in obsession, not reality. Coined by psychologist Dorothy Tennov, limerence involves magnifying someone’s good traits, ignoring red flags, and building elaborate stories based on minimal interaction or imagined signals. Key ingredients? Hope and uncertainty – the belief that something could happen, even without evidence. It’s not just a teenage crush; limerence can affect adults and lead to heartbreak or even manipulation. If you’re spinning narratives and mistaking silence or mixed signals for reciprocation, it might not be love – it might be limerence.