Obsessive love disorder

Obsessive love disorder (OLD) is a proposed^{[ by whom? ]} condition in which one person feels an overwhelming obsessive desire to possess and protect another person, sometimes with an inability to accept failure or rejection. Symptoms^{[ medical citation needed ]} include an inability to tolerate any time spent without that person, obsessive fantasies surrounding the person, and spending inordinate amounts of time seeking out, making, or looking at images of that person. ^{[1] [2] [ dubious – discuss ]}

The term has especially become mainstream online, but isn't an official diagnosis in the DSM. ^{[3] [4]}

Characteristics

An obsessive lover may regard the other person as though they were an object or a possession. In extreme cases, obsessive lovers may commit acts of violence or abuse. ^{[5] [ better source needed ]}

Psychology

Sigmund Freud considered that obsessive love might be underpinned by an unconscious feeling of hate for which it overcompensated - thereby explaining the sufferer's feeling of a need to protect the love object. ^{[6] [ verification needed ]}

In culture

Bollywood films such as Darr , Anjaam , and Dastak portray themes of obsessive love disorder. ^{[7] [ dubious – discuss ]}

You, a 2014 thriller novel by Caroline Kepnes, portrays obsessive love disorder.^{[ citation needed ]} The novel was adapted into the first season of the Lifetime and Netflix television series You.

See also

• Erotomania
• Love addiction
• Obsessive love
• Relationship obsessive–compulsive disorder
• Sexual obsessions
• Stalking
• Temptation
• Unrequited love
• Yandere
• Yuka Takaoka

References

1. Susan Forward; Craig Buck (1 January 2002). Obsessive Love: When It Hurts Too Much to Let Go. Bantam Books. ISBN   978-0-553-38142-9.
2. Moore JD (2006). Confusing Love with Obsession: When Being in Love Means Being in Control. Center City, MN: Hazelden Books.
3. Ingle, Rhiannon (2025-04-28). "Psychologist reveals what they'd actually diagnose Joe Goldberg with as You season five leaves Netflix viewers confused". Yahoo . Retrieved 2025-07-19.
4. Shah, Yusra (2024-11-01). "Obsessive Love Disorder: Definitions, Causes, Treatment". NOCD. Retrieved 2025-07-19.
5. What is obsessive love disorder?, from Medical News Today
6. S Freud, Case Histories II (PFL 9) p. 118-9 and p. 70-1
7. Pimprikar, Aabha; Jha, Geetanjali (Feb 2022), "Love Special - Mad in Love: Psychological Disorders" (PDF), Mind Matters (11)

Further reading

• Peabody, Susan (1995) [1989]. Addiction to Love: Overcoming Obsession and Dependency in Relationships (illustrated, reprint, revised ed.). Ten Speed Press. ISBN   9780890877159.
• Moore, John (2006) [2010]. Confusing Love with Obsession: When Being in Love Means Being in Control (illustrated, reprint, revised ed.). Hazelden Books. ISBN   978-1592853564.