This guest article from YourTango was written by Sherry Gaba.
To many people, the idea of a love addiction seems far-fetched or made up to explain irrational behaviors.
However, love addiction is not a new concept, nor is it fabricated. Early literature and history are full of references to people — often very powerful and famous people — who allowed their dependence on others to destroy them.
People become so dependent on others because of emotional needs that are not met through positive relationships; they are met through negative and destructive relationships. But love addiction is more than just an emotional need unmet — there is also a potential for serious injury because of this behavior.
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Site last updated: 19 May 2013
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I feel that this is just a mash up of dependent personality disorder and battered woman syndrome
It is actually the heart of BPD. The trade mark of BPD is the inability to identify and maintain a healthy relationship. Fear of being abandoned causes a cyclical pendulum swing. They draw a partner in too close, they get a nagging fear that they will loose control and find themselves abandoned. So they act out, pushing buttons, or stray from the relationship in order to push their partner away. Then, just when they fear they will be abandoned, they become overly accommodating, attentive, and warm to pull their partner back in. (Or if they are going to loose that partner, they will turn on the charm to a new one ASAP.) This is becoming more and more common in our culture because of the way in which we raise our offspring is chocked full of the traits that in the past were identified as risk factors for BPD.