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This Kind of Obsessive Attraction Isn’t Love. But It Has a Name.
The New York Times • • science
Key Points:
- Jordan experienced an intense, obsessive romantic infatuation with a co-worker for eight years, feeling certain he was her soulmate despite limited knowledge of him.
- This type of infatuation, known as limerence, involves obsessive thoughts, compulsive behaviors, and a strong desire for emotional reciprocation.
- Neuroscientist Tom Bellamy estimates that up to 50 percent of people experience limerence at least once in their lives, although research on the phenomenon is limited.
- The term limerence was coined in the 1970s by psychologist Dorothy Tennov but is not officially recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).
- Psychologist Orly Miller explains that limerence is a psychological state marked by deep longing and intrusive thoughts about the object of affection.
