Thursday, March 17, 2011

Infatuation vs. Love

So...what exactly is the difference between Infatuation & Love? I've asked myself this questions many times...usually when I've just started to date someone and didn't want to assume I was in love after a couple of weeks...but now that I've had the question asked of me...I decided to do a little research...as I do.
So here is what I found out...

Infatuation is described as: a foolish and usually extravagant love or admiration of short-lived passion.

OK...so that just described every relationship in the first few months of mine. Does that mean I never loved my ex-boyfriends? Surely not...so I did a deeper search.

Infatuation, in the simplest way possible, is a state in which one is completely carried away by unreasonable passion or love, it's addictive. It can tend to occur at the start of a relationship when the sexual attraction is at its peak. But..however, you don't have to be in a relationship to be infatuated with someone. It could be an acquaintance that you feel you had a connection with but this could be a one-sided connection and I'm sure we've all discovered that at one point in our life. I know I have!

It happens to feel like love and is often hard to imagine this person not in your life but at the end of the day, you will be able to move on, even people in love can move on from their partners who are their world. It just feels like the world will come to an end when you are rejected or find out that they are gay! Yep, it's happened to me before...he was absolutely gorgeous and bam! shock of my life!

Whereas, Infatuation is an intensity of emotion which is strong but it's not pure like love is. Love is an understanding and mature acceptance of imperfection. If you are infatuated with someone, you don't tend to see any flaws in the object of your desire and they appear to be almost god-like for you which isn't healthy, no matter how much you deny it. No one is perfect.

Infatuation isn't pure like love is and may be accompanied by lust. It goes about thinking about oneself and not the other person. It's a selfish emotion but in saying that we can also alter ourselves in the vain hope that the object of our infatuation will take a better look and "see" us.
Below is a table of some of the characteristics of Infatuation versed with Love.

Infatuation vs. Love


Infatuation
Love
Symptoms
Physical desire or lust
Passion, Intimacy, Commitment
Feelings
Extreme Happiness
Euphoria
Meaning
A feeling of being in love with another person.
A tender, passionate affection for another person.
Definition
It is a state of being completely carried away by unreasoning passion.
Emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong affection or profound oneness
Attribute
Wants the same feeling in return
Does not expect anything in return and only wants what is best for the other person
Actions
Urgency, intensity, sexual desire, anxiety
Calmness, happiness, contentedness


As always, comments are welcome :)

Always,

Candy xo