How does science explain obsession, (Obsessive Love Disorder).

There is a trendy television series in my country right now, when the first episode came out, I was telling my friends about how obsessed this woman was with her husband, but they said it is love, and clearly, this doesn't just cut for love at all when the second episode came out recently, that was when they agreed with my observation because you can tell when love is not just what it should be. I was thinking out loud about the possibility of obsession having a scientific backing and my friend and I began the discussion. Let's see how science describes obsession then we will be able to rule in or rule out our own opinion on the topic and figure out how correct we are.

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Before now, obsessions were believed to be rotted in repressed impulses or in a sexual nature that is aggressive, obsessions and some compulsions are observed based on the context of certain neurological disorders, like Huntington's disease or encephalitis lethargica this means there is an underlying brain abnormality particularly affecting the basal ganglia and frontal cortex.

Obsessions and compulsions have some features in common, but let's quickly look into what obsession is. Obsessions are unwanted, intrusive, and constant thought that creates distressing emotions like disgust or anxiety. Obsessive people understand clearly that, the images they have about a particular person or a particular object are simply a product of their minds and are unreasonable, yet, these thoughts cannot be settled through logical reasoning.

Compulsions, on the other hand, are the creation of an urge to do something that can reduce the discomfort caused by obsession. Imagine being obsessed with someone who has clearly made it clear there is no room for the both of you, picking up the habit of stalking his social media page, checking your phone to see if he is the one calling you, or re-assuring yourself that he would come through is indeed a serious pick up from compulsion. But obsession is not just amongst lovers alone, I read this story from a thi article, and it gives a clear description of obsession and compulsions.

A woman with a baby walked into the hospital and she disclosed her fear with the specialist present there, she says there is always an urge that makes her want to strangle her daughter while she is sleeping in her crib, and she understands that the thought is not a good one, but it isn't something that she can control, she is scared that if she is alone with her daughter then she could hurt her, the thoughts used to come once in a while initially, but it is now more common and more persistent, and she doesn't have the power to fight it. Whenever she has this thought, she begins to wash her hand, with the hope that the filthiness would disappear through the hand washing procedure, now she washes her hand up to twelve times a day, over and over again and whenever there is no facility to wash her hand, she gets really anxious.

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Obsession was derived from the Latin word "obsidere", which means "taken into possession, or being occupied or preoccupied'', the reason why I think this actress is obsessed with her husband is that, even if he has made it obvious to her countless times that, he cannot stay faithful to just her, she believes that he can and every minute and every second of the day, she is checking to see what he is up to, she is checking the blogs to see if there is another information that has been passed about him and so on and so forth.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) happens to be the fourth most common mental disorder that exists, and with the high rate of occurrence, several unsuspecting individuals might also be affected. It is diagnosed as often as other physiological ailments like diabetes and asthma, based on an estimate, a report shows that, one out of every fifty adults suffers from OCD in the United States. However, we can have obsessive love disorder which is what this actress has towards her husband, it would make the person fixate on the other person as though they are an object or a possession, which could be a mental health or delusional disorder, while it may not sound as a big deal, it could turn out to become one because the affected person may find it difficult to regulate the feelings and in extreme cases, there could be a trigger of abuse or violence.

Some of the people with this condition could become so attached to taking complete control of their partner's behavior that they want to keep and control them, often times they may appear to worship them but problems would arise in the form of anger and jealousy even at the slightest threat. Sometimes, obsessive love would be with an unexisting relationship, with probably a certain celebrity who is not even aware of the victim's existence.

Mental health professionals are responsible for diagnosing the presence of obsessive love, as well as the provision of details on how it can be treated, there are no particular diagnostic criteria for obsessive love, rather it is weighed on how the person's life is affected. Obsessive love could be a sign of a mental health condition so questions would be asked in order to rule out certain facts especially if there is a demonstration of a delusional behavior.

Treating obsessive love would create emphasis on the thoughts as well as the feelings, medications and psychotherapy would be used to manage the symptoms associated with anxiety and mood swings. Therapy would help with the management of obsessive feelings and in the development of healthy relationships. At the early stage of providing help for the patient, it is best to begin with individual therapy especially if it is a case of an abusive relationship, from that stage, couple counseling would proceed. There is however no clear treatment timeline for the recovery of obsessive love, it is a person's experience that depends on so many factors, ranging from how deep the trait is and what could be causing it, it is indeed a lot to treat.

FOR FURTHER STUDIES

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/327098#treatment

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.734116/full

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/obsession

https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/cclm-2013-0265/html?lang=en

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3041996/

https://www.nature.com/articles/457266a

Hi, I am Tobi a writer, speaker, relationship blogger, and lover of good music. I love making friends and learning from people. Want to hear me speak on relationships and general life issues, you can find my youtube channel where you can listen and watch any episode for free, please, If do not forget to subscribe, friends. I sincerely appreciate every love I get from here, kindly do well to keep them coming.