What love is?
The term love is used in various ways. However, the kind of love that this lesson is concerned of is heterosexual love or strong emotional and inmate attachment between adolescents or adults of opposite sexes. Many researches believe that love is a relationship of exchange in which the lovers help to fulfill each others needs.
In the love relationship, people exchange affection and seek to help each other to the point at which,the need of the other become as important as the lover's own needs, and satisfying those needs gives the lover great satisfaction. the emotions experienced in fulfilling each other's needs are intense and help strengthen the attachment. individuals marry because they are "in love" regardless of the realities of class,race. and ethnic differences, or the admonitions of relatives and friends.
What infatuation is?
Infatuation is an emotion that in many respects is similar to love. A person may "fall into" infatuation, but "grow into" real love. guys, have you ever seen a girl who was beautiful that you thought you'd faint? this is infatuation! it is based totally on physical attraction; often you do not know much about the person you say you love. Thus, infatuation is mostly biological.
There are three types or phases of love:
* Infatuation - as in the case of "puppy love", infatuation is a strong emotional attachment which is narrowly focused on one segment of the personality and which is related to particular wishes for response and self-gratification. Physical attraction is dominant in infatuation, so the thrill and excitement experienced do not usually last long especially if the felling is not mutual.
*Romantic Love - this is similar to infatuation. This involves fantasy,idealization,strong emotional attachment, and physical attraction toward a person. However, it is less ego-centered and more relationship-centered.
*Mature love - this is the real love or true love, a combination of attachment,affection,companionship, and emotional interdependence. it is also characterized by mutually shared empathy,genuine concern and self sacrifice for the love one.
How do you know if you are in love?
what then, is this elusive thing called love that everyone so desperately needs? sometimes, a boy likes a girl because she is beautiful. or a girl likes a boy because he is handsome. but this kind of relationship is nit real love. it is better known as infatuation and there is a vast difference between it and real love.
Differences between love and infatuation
( find out if you really are in love and not just infatuated )
* real love involves commitment while infatuation is just a feeling.
* real love is love of devotion whereas infatuation is just love of emotion.
* real love is basically selfless while infatuation is basically selfish.
* real love is strengthened by time and separation while infatuation is weakened by time and separation.
* real love releases energy whereas infatuation binds energy.
* real love is other-centered whereas infatuation is self-centered.
