LOVE is a Mental Illness?

[Lote-Tree]

Actually just considered this thread. I haven't read through the entire thread so I don't know if this was mentioned before. The notion that love is a mental illness is not a new one. It was certainly believed in the middle ages and it even figures in the 13th century work "The Romance of the Rose." I can't help but feel that I've come across this in Shakespeare many times.

Yep that is correct and in that start of the thread I have mentioned that. Love Sickness is as old as humanity :-)

[Virgil]

Yep that is correct and in that start of the thread I have mentioned that. Love Sickness is as old as humanity :-)

Oh sorry for repeating.

[Wizard272002]

Define 'Love'.

"Love is a many splendred thing," to quote a song. (Can't remember it.)

[Bii]

"Love is a many splendred thing," to quote a song. (Can't remember it.)

Wasn't that in Grease?...

Don't forget "love lifts us up where we belong..."

[Scheherazade]

"Love is a many splendred thing," to quote a song. (Can't remember it.)

Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole sang it among many other singers of their day.

From the soundtrack of the movie with the same title.

I had a doll named Han Suyin as a toddler.

[Pensive]

I have not said it does not causes happiness. Falling in Love is one of the most exhilerating exeperience. But that is the infection that leads to the sickness. This virus must be diagnosed earlier enough and eradicated :-)

I told you already, I think it can lead to sickness (like most of the other emotions, things, etc) but it doesn't make it a sickness.

If it is that simple then it would that easy! Even when love is requited - it is not the end of the story. The love-sickness continues for a long time.

Some people are happy with what they love and how they love it. Everyone doesn't commit sucide.

Really? I don't understand this. Why would anyone want not be loved in return? It does not make sense.

Why do people help others in this forum? Some of them don't ask for anything in return. Their own conscience is happy with it. I am sorry if this doesn't make any sense to you...but to some it does.

And we want end to this pain. Just like a cancer patient wants an end to his pain.

And this doesn't make love a sickness.

Rumi and other mystical poets would disagree. The Yearning of the beloved continues till death and this yearning is coupled with sadness, sorrow and pain...there are moments of extreme exhileration no doubt...thus it leads to the mental illness of that of a manic depressive.

Let them disagree. Many poets/philosophers/other people might disagree with this that love is a sickness... And anyway, I saw the influence of love of God on people by my very own eyes and their contentedness, and it's enough to make me believe love is not a sickness. But at times, it is a cure for illness.

[nomoredrama28]

love is a bunch of bologne.

[Lote-Tree]

Why do people help others in this forum?

It is nothing to do with Romantic Love for sure :-)

Some of them don't ask for anything in return.

You said - you love someone but you don't want them to love you back - this is bizzare.

Their own conscience is happy with it. I am sorry if this doesn't make any sense to you...but to some it does.

What you are talking about is unconditional love where it does not matter if someone loves you or not but you love them still. This is fine. But when you say you don't want somone to love that is bit strange...unless of course I misunderstood your earlier post.

[Bii]

love is a bunch of bologne.

Isn't that in Italy?

[Pensive]

It is nothing to do with Romantic Love for sure :-)
You said - you love someone but you don't want them to love you back - this is bizzare.

I didn't say we don't want them to love us back (most people like to be loved, and wouldn't like a person not to love them). But sometimes all we want is to see them happy. We don't want anything from them. Love is not always about 'give' and 'take'. Anyway, I thought we were talking about 'love' generally as the title suggests...Didn't know we had to be specific about this 'romantic love'.

What you are talking about is unconditional love where it does not matter if someone loves you or not but you love them still. This is fine. But when you say you don't want somone to love that is bit strange...unless of course I misunderstood your earlier post.

Yes, I am sorry if I created some kind of misunderstanding, but what I meant was that if someone doesn't love you back, you can still be happy with your life because he is happy. For you are the one who loves him. Of course, you would like him to love you but his happiness is what you want at the first place.

[Lote-Tree]

Yes, I am sorry if I created some kind of misunderstanding, but what I meant was that if someone doesn't love you back, you can still be happy with your life because he is happy. For you are the one who loves him. Of course, you would like him to love you but his happiness is what you want at the first place.

No problema :-)

So it's a "him" that you are in love with then

Regards,
Lote

[littlewing53]

bologna, italy...hilarious

love is the perfect emotion that fills all hearts...it aches, it smiles, it fills you and then empties you...i wouldn't have it any other way...

[Nightshade]

of "Layla and Majnun" - What say you chaps and chapses?

Is love an mental Illness?

Regards,
Lote

Can I just say first off I really really HATE that story ...and all love songs with the name layla in them and the inevitable " so where is quais ( this is magnuns actual name magunu being arabic for crazy/mad/ insane) then?

LOVE is like OCD - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

You be onto more than you think there, I think recent resarch said something like more than 1 in 5 people have a form of OCD.

Well, I assume you are talking 'romantic' love only here, as love exists beyond romance, i.e. the love we feel for children, family members, friends etc. Without those forms of love I think most people would struggle.

I think Ive said this before but I dont believe in any form of love. I think its a over romatisised ( the irony of using this word is not lost on me but I cant think of a different term) way of generalising a whole load of things that for the most part are rooted in chemicals and evolutionary drives. The only form of 'love' I can think of outside this equastion is the 'love' of God.
Love is IMO a story someone invented back at the dawn of 'civilization' to make people feel seperate from animals, and hey it works, so good for them , I just personally dont buy it. THat is not to say of course that Im not a sucker for a good love story but I also love most kinds of fantasy stories and I tend to lump them in the same boat. End of semi-rant. ( yes I do know this makes me seem like a bitter person I think after one rant at school when I was 14 when I was sick of people going on and on I got 2 response s your going to end up a bitter old spister with lots of cats and are you even human.

Actually I guess the truth is really Ive never quite seen the point in it especially when it comes to 12 and 14 year olds dating. It always seemd like ridculous waste of energy and emotion, I mean seriously its not going to go anywhere really so what on earth is the point. the class got into this discussion same year when I was 14 and it was me and one guy singing this tune and the rest of the class trying to convince us we were nuts. But like we both said ( note this is egypt where dating is a bit of a social grey area anyway) its fine when your old enough to get married or whatever so you actually get something out of the emotional and time invesetd otherwise its a distraction and just a waste of time.

Really no offence meant to any one who is in love I think I have mentioned before that also IMO that all truth is realtive and becasue it doesnt exsist for me it doesnt mean it doesnt exsist as a concrete fact for someone else.

[Pensive]

I think Ive said this before but I dont believe in any form of love. I think its a over romatisised ( the irony of using this word is not lost on me but I cant think of a different term) way of generalising a whole load of things that for the most part are rooted in chemicals and evolutionary drives. The only form of 'love' I can think of outside this equastion is the 'love' of God.
Love is IMO a story someone invented back at the dawn of 'civilization' to make people feel seperate from animals, and hey it works, so good for them , I just personally dont buy it. THat is not to say of course that Im not a sucker for a good love story but I also love most kinds of fantasy stories and I tend to lump them in the same boat. End of semi-rant. ( yes I do know this makes me seem like a bitter person I think after one rant at school when I was 14 when I was sick of people going on and on I got 2 response s your going to end up a bitter old spister with lots of cats and are you even human.

Actually I guess the truth is really Ive never quite seen the point in it especially when it comes to 12 and 14 year olds dating. It always seemd like ridculous waste of energy and emotion, I mean seriously its not going to go anywhere really so what on earth is the point. the class got into this discussion same year when I was 14 and it was me and one guy singing this tune and the rest of the class trying to convince us we were nuts. But like we both said ( note this is egypt where dating is a bit of a social grey area anyway) its fine when your old enough to get married or whatever so you actually get something out of the emotional and time invesetd otherwise its a distraction and just a waste of time.

Really no offence meant to any one who is in love I think I have mentioned before that also IMO that all truth is realtive and becasue it doesnt exsist for me it doesnt mean it doesnt exsist as a concrete fact for someone else.

My Oxford dictionary defines love as many things but the first thing is deep affection or fondness. We, not native speakers of English have to rely on dictionaries a lot you see. So according to what the dictionary says, the dialogues of actors and actresses don't seem cheap (or over-used) in the light of it to me.

You see we can have a deep affection or fondness for many people, and even things. By not believing in love you would have to deny ever having fondness for books. So this attitude is also understandable that people break up with their boyfriends/girlfriends because you can't be sure your fondness/affection would last forever.

Love might be looking simple if we consider its one meaning from the dictionary but the thing is up to the extent it can take people, makes it a wide topic in the eyes of poets/philosophers/etc. Some people are so much fond of a person that they can't live without her/him (perhaps that's why Majnun died for Layla). It depends from person to person and to what extent he loves the other person/thing.

Heh, I might have rambled a bit here about my (what may seem to many) a silly theory but this is how I feel about it, couldn't resist expressing myself.

So it's a "him" that you are in love with then

What makes you say that? I am fond of many people and yes, things as well. So this makes it to: They are hims, hers and its I love!

[Lote-Tree]

Can I just say first off I really really HATE that story ...and all love songs with the name layla in them and the inevitable " so where is quais ( this is magnuns actual name magunu being arabic for crazy/mad/ insane) then?

I am surprised that anyone would hate this Archetypal Love Story! :-( Anyone can see parts of themselves in this story :-)

Qais is his real name at the start of the story. When Madness of Love takes over him - from then he became known as "Majnun", the Crazy, the mad - an apt name!

I think Ive said this before but I dont believe in any form of love.

I think no one does until love happens. And love is indeed is something that happens to you. An invisible hand that reaches out to you and touches you for the first time and turns your world upside down.

The only form of 'love' I can think of outside this equastion is the 'love' of God.

Islamic Scholars interpret Layla and Majnun as an allegorical story of Spiritual Quest for the Love of God. Layla is a pointer to the Divine Love.

Love is IMO a story someone invented back at the dawn of 'civilization' to make people feel seperate from animals, and hey it works, so good for them , I just personally dont buy it.

From Evolutionary stand point: Female have a limited number of eggs - around 400. Male have an "infinite" supply of sperms. Female needs to ensure she gets best supply of sperm. Male needs to ensure that his sperm impregnates the female and not other males. Love is a mechanism to ensure that this happens :-)

yes I do know this makes me seem like a bitter person I think after one rant at school when I was 14 when I was sick of people going on and on I got 2 response s your going to end up a bitter old spister with lots of cats and are you even human.

Love is something happens to you. There is nothing to be bitter about it.