Love Addiction: What Are The Causes

love addiction

Last Post’s Recap:
In my last post, I wrote about love addiction, that intoxicating high of “falling in love,” the obsession with the chase, and the endless hunt for “the one.” Love addicts often put their partner on a pedestal, revolving their entire world around them, while neglecting work, friends, and even themselves.
If you missed out on the last post, you could click on the link.

In this post, I will be discussing the Causes of Love Addiction:

Love addiction does not emerge in a vacuum; it grows from wounds, shadows, and beliefs etched deeply into our lives. Understanding these causes helps us see why some hearts cling too tightly, mistaking chains for connection.

  • Abandonment in Childhood
    Imagine a child waiting at the window for a parent who never comes home or sitting across the dinner table from parents who are present in body but not in heart. That emptiness becomes the blueprint for adulthood. Love addicts fear abandonment so deeply that even crumbs of affection feel like a feast.
  • Low Self-Esteem
    Picture someone clinging to a fragile vine, hoping it will hold them up. Instead of building their own roots, they look to their partner for worth, identity… mistaking co-dependency for love.
  • Cultural Shadows
    In societies where abuse is normalized, endurance is praised over escape. A woman beaten by her husband may be told by neighbours to apologize to him. When the entire village says, “endure it,” breaking free feels like betrayal, so suffering becomes tradition.
  • Martyr’s Complex
    Some wear suffering or pain like a crown, believing that love means “bearing all things,” even abuse. Like standing on a burning bridge, convinced the fire is holy.
  • Lack of Courage & Confidence
    Without courage, people shrink. They accept manipulation, not because they love it, but because they cannot imagine deserving better. They stay because leaving feels like walking into an empty night without a lantern.
  • Inferiority Complex
    Those who once struggled to find love often cling hardest when they finally have it…terrified that losing it means they’ll never be chosen again.
  • Desperation & Fear of Time
    Biological clocks tick like loud drums. Friends and peers marry, settle, and move forward. Desperation whispers: “This might be your last chance.” And so, they hold on, even when it hurts.
  • Past Relationship Wounds
    Like ghosts, old betrayals hover over new loves. Cheating, abandonment, heartbreak…these scars push love addicts to smother their partners, not out of joy, but from fear; desperate to prevent history from repeating itself.

Food for Thought:
If you feel an instant rush, an intoxicating pull toward someone you barely know, pause. That spark may not be love. It might be addiction.

Can love addiction be healed?
Next week, in the final part of this series, we will step into the heart of the storm and discover the path to healing from love addiction.

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