The Feelings of Falling in Love
What is Love? Is it attraction? Is it intimacy? Is it attachment?
Love, in fact, is all of these things combined together. "Love is spiritual, not physical. It is a union of souls and hearts and minds, not something you can't put under your microscope and understand!" Love is an emotion combined with a series of feelings. These feelings can be immensely powerful and wonderful. Romantic love is defined to be an intense emotional state that one person experiences in relation to another. These types of feelings appear to be among the most intense that most of us are capable of, and at least in some cases, grow rather than diminish with time. Falling in love can be one of the most unexplainable feelings a person can endure.
There are two sets of feelings that are the basis of modern romantic relationships. The first is attraction. Attraction is the excitement you feel when falling in love. To better explain this feeling, attraction is what you feel when you have met someone new who really excites you and you begin to feel aroused when thinking about this person. Although this sounds very sexual, this feeling is just the first of what will most likely become a sexual passion.
When in this first state of attraction, your body feels different - more bouncy, more energetic, and in need of less food and sleep. When in this state of attraction, one feels very happy and different every time that they are with this person. Frequently the presence (or sometimes merely thought) of the loved one can evoke specific physiological reactions. These physiological reactions include: erections for the male, wetness for the female, a lump in the throat, sweaty palms, weak knees, cold feet, a pounding heart. dizziness, and butterflies in the stomach. These physiological reations are completely normal when falling in love.
The second type of feeling that one endures when falling in love is attachment. Attachment is a bond or a special tie between people that are attracted to one another. Attachment helps keep people together and has more to do with feelings of security than of excitement. Romantic love requires attraction plus attachment. Someone can be very strongly attracted to another person but never become attached. Without some feeling of attachment, attraction is nonspecific. Once you have begun to fall in love with someone, this process becomes more and more important and you begin to feel more attached to this person. When in this state of attachment, each person would feel as if they are one person combined together. A special bond is shared and a sense of
The general umbrella of love encompasses various kinds of love, such as romantic love, the love of a parent for a child, love of one’s country, and several others. What is common to all love is this: Your own well-being is tied up with that of someone (or something) you love. When love is not present, changes in other people’s well being do not, in general, change your own. Being ‘in love’ infatuation is an intense state that displays similar features:. and finding everyone charming and nice, and thinking they all must sense one’s happiness....
It looks as if this spiritual relationship intends to be more complete and sacred; aspiring to an awakening, and cooperation of one’s heavenly, higher self. One’s union with the Divine comes forth as an earthly reality; illuminating a freedom, and calmness within one’s spirit.
The whole (group) is greater than the sum of its parts. A couple is more than two individuals. A family is more than two parents and a child. These are not merely cliches but a recognition that we are influenced and influence the people that matter most to us in sometimes subtle yet profound ways. A couple is a unit; there has never been the combination and alchemy that is two people coming together to create a new entity. Families exist in a web of relationships - carrying their parents and even grandparents in their DNA and their habitual subconscious patterns. Systems theories honor the inter-connectedness that defines us.
The both function together because they are both trying to reach the goal of harmony, but they are trying to do it two different ways. In the video clip it is said that the ...
This passage marks the first of several types of love, and gives us an intuitive
Attachment is an emotional bond between two people regardless of space and time. The father of the psychological theory of attachment, John Bowlby, once said,” Attachment is characterized by specific behavior in children, such as seeking proximity with the attachment figure when upset or threatened.” Although scientists believe a child's development depends on their parenthood, the theory of attachment explains how children are pre-exposed to form attachments.
...s love each other too. You know the kind of love I’m talking about now. Physical love, that impulse that drives you to someone special, as well as love of the other person’s being, his or her essence, as it were” (Carver 853).
should slowly begin to change. Attachment is an emotional tie to specific people that mainly
The phenomenon of love is such that when two souls first fall into love, their passions and
Love and infatuation are both strong emotions that most will encounter within their lifetime. The two feelings are often misunderstood, but are differentiated through their outcomes and stability. True love does not only rely on physical attraction, but also on one’s personality. When one is truly in love, they accept their partner’s flaws and perfections. There is a connection between two people, in which they can make compromises and smart decisions. The love grows stronger with time and is not instant. On the other hand, infatuation occurs almost instantaneously and progresses quickly. Infatuation relies on lust and physical attraction. It can cause an individual to
the body. Ultimately, it is the same clarity and distinctness that serves to distinguish the mind
you love and friends but also the relationships that you create or build within all space of their lives. The
body. We can be very efficient if we unify our mind and body. However, it is rather
In The Awakening, Edna is faced with temptations from various different directions. In the late 1800's, women were expected to be a perfect wife and a dedicated mother. Edna on the other hand breaks that tradition as she is confronted with emotions for two other men. The definition of love and infatuation will vary from person to person. One may think that love is a feeling of deep affection while another person may think it means to feel passionate towards another person. Infatuation is often a difficult word to describe. Some people believe that the definition of infatuation is similar to that of love while others will describe it as a short lived passion towards someone. In The Awakening by Kate Chopin, Edna Pontellier is both in love and infatuated with three men: Léonce Pontellier, Robert Lebrun, and Alcée Arobin.
“Bonding and Attachment”. Buening, Walter. 2013: Walter D. Buening, Ph D. & Assoc. Web. April 4, 2014.