How To Overcome Limerence

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There are many who see limerence as love sickness or an infatuation. But to put it honestly, it is nothing more than addiction or simply obsession.

It was psychologist Dorothy Tennov who formulated this term. She explained it primarily as an involuntary state of mind that includes obsessive-compulsive feelings and strong emotional dependence on a person. In its extreme stages, limerence can become pathological and affect your everyday state of being. 

And without proper care, it can significantly disrupt your lifestyle. This is sometimes caused by low levels of serotonin in your body because you have undetected OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). When people suffer from limerence, stopping obsessive thoughts almost becomes impossible. 

In the beginning, it might feel like an intoxication of love and slowly turn into an obsession that is tiring for everyone involved. So, in order to have a healthy love life and good interpersonal relationship with your romantic partner, there are some steps that you can take. And today, in this guide, I will talk about a few of them. 

#1 Practice awareness: The first step in dealing with limerence is to accept that you might have a problem. Once you are clear on that, taking corrective measures to overcome it becomes a lot more simple. 

Moreover, you should try to be more ‘present’ in any situation that you are in. When you become aware of your behavior and anything that triggers it, things will become easier. Hold yourself accountable, but don’t beat yourself up for it! Remember that you have the power to get over any limitations when you put in enough work.

#2 Divert your mind to productive work: It goes without saying that an empty mind is a devil’s workshop. You might find yourself spending too much time thinking about another person or getting highly dependent on them. In such cases, it is best that you start engaging yourself in something else. 

Maybe take up a new hobby or get back to something that you liked doing. Gardening, for example, has helped many to take their minds off negative thoughts. 

#3 Understanding the root cause: A lot of times, your insecurities and obsessions are a result of the experiences you had in childhood. So, there are things that trigger them and it is best that you keep yourself away from such things. Having a better understanding of your triggers is half the battle won. That way, you may even be able to slowly overcome them. 

Is limerence something you have had to overcome? What steps did you take?