Is It Love or Is It Addiction? - 9781592857333

Real love is not addiction, nor is addiction love. But for many, these two experiences come together, resulting in tremendous pain and suffering. Through two previous editions, Is It Love or Is It Addiction? has helped countless people find their way from the trials and confusion of addictive love to the fulfillment of whole and healthy relationships. As psychotherapist Brenda Schaeffer reveals, we can begin to work through relationship difficulties with compassion and lasting effect by increasing our awareness of the ways that we express love.

In this expanded third edition, Schaeffer draws on years of feedback and new developments to foster an understanding of love addiction: what it is and what it is not, how to identify it, and, even more important, how to get out of it. Stories of real individuals struggling to develop sound relationships illustrate the characteristics of healthy love and help readers to free themselves to live life more abundantly. Included is the most up-to-date information about the biological basis of addictive behaviors and the impact of technology, sexual addiction, and relationship addiction on intimate relationships. The author also explores the influence of past abuse and trauma on the predisposition to love addiction.