These senses point out a distinct difference between love and obsession, but more often than not, love turns to obsession before too long. Love obsession is when one or both partners are thinking of the other person in a slightly obsessive way, wanting to spend every single moment with him/her. An obsessive person is likely to spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about his or her partner and trying to please him or her.
An obsessive partner will feel an overwhelming need to be around their other half on a daily basis. The obsessed partner will display excessive possessiveness, and constantly feels afraid to lose you to anyone else. An obsessive partner will care less about you having the best conversation ever, and will worry more that he or she may be meeting someone else and falling in love. If you are truly in love, your partner will want to keep you happy and giving the best, while if there is obsession, you might feel unsafe, while your partner cannot be considerate.
With one partner obsessed over the other, a relationship may grow more suffocating as time goes on. If one is simply obsessed, those feelings can disappear as soon as the relationship starts to gain momentum. For some, the feelings are so strong they make them obsessively want to hold onto and control the person they love. Rather than loving that person and wanting what is best for that person, someone with an obsessional tendencies might like the other person out of need.
In effect, the person experiencing symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) can subconsciously control the partner, almost as though he or she is nothing but a possession. When feelings of love, or what seems like love, toward one person are coupled with a fixation, or a desire, to control another person, it could be an obsessive love disorder. Obsessive love, or intrusive love disorder (OLD), is a condition where a person feels a crushing, compulsive desire to possess and protect another person, sometimes with a inability to accept failure or rejection. Obsessive love occurs when one person feels an overwhelming, obsessive desire to possess and protect another person toward whom they feel strong attraction.
Love and obsession are feelings of being out of control, which is a healthy emotion which builds up over time between two people; while obsessive feelings which cause one person to control the other result in unhealthy emotions. According to Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, love can be defined as the intense feeling of liking and caring for someone or something, particularly a member of ones family or friend, while obsession can be defined as a condition where an individuals mind is entirely filled with thoughts about one specific thing or person in a way that is abnormal. Obsession is an unhealthy emotion in which an obsessed partner does not let the other person grow and pursue his/her own interests. Loved individuals prioritize doing the best for their partners, whereas the obsessed person always prioritizes keeping his partner close.
Individuals in love are able to keep his or her own identities and interests, because of the understanding between the two parties and the mature mentality, whereas obsessed individuals cannot think of anything other than his or her partner. Over time, the Obsessed person will relegate his or her partner to an impotent, dependent individual who is just a shell of the man with whom he or she is supposedly falling in love. In extreme cases of obsessional love, the obsessed partner can subject his or her lover to verbal or physical violence, rape, stalking, or even murder. Yes, showing someone your attention is always a good thing, but it is not love; obsessiveness is mostly just the drive to get noticed, and when you really think about it, love is about timing and loyalty.
