How do you know if you love someone? How can we differentiate between true love and obsession?

[Idomybest]

How can we differentiate between true love and obsession?

[HawkPerception]

It's truly hard to tell for some more than others. But emotions don't lie. There are people who wear their emotions on their sleeves and those that hide their emotions as if showing them will kill them.

Once you learn how to read body language and tone of voice, you can usually tell when someone is feeling a certain way. Dogs are especially good at this and that's why they're so good at picking up people's moods, better than many people can.

It's still not a surefire method as there are quite a few psychos out there that can fake their emotions pretty well, but it still helps for the genuine people in the world.

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

As someone who identifies as aromantic and asexual, I’ve wondered this too. The portrayal people show in media alongside the way people act about it in person does very strongly give me the vibes of a socially acceptable obsession. People will go out of their way to hyper-analyze any text message, phone call, email, small physical gesture and try to use that as proof of their feelings. To me, it seems insane to be this level of concerned about another person. And loving someone inherently for who they are as a person isn’t limited to romantic love. I would die for the people I care about most, I would fight like hell for them if they needed me, and I’ve never felt any desire to make out with them or fuck them, I just love them implicitly. I never understood why that distinction for that particular kind of sexual affection somehow made romantic love superior to any other form of love.

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

That's an inevitable aspect of any feelings I could say, when looking at them from an external perspective they can't make sense at all, because they have no objective meaning, the meaning comes from inside, not outside. Trying to look at them from outside is like trying to understand what touching a tree feels like when you never touched a tree. It cannot make sense.

[MoonFace2]

I see it as this, they both feel the same, except that with love, you want what’s best for them. With obsession, you want what’s best for yourself.

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

What is love? 🚘

Okay, refraining to put up a Nth meme here, all right, all riiiight !

In fact, I discussed this, once, someone asked me about the difference between love and OCD lol. She found a good picture to summarize one aspect of romantic love:

A loved one lives in your head, rent free.

I truly believe in this. Yes, there can be a obsessive dimension in feeling love, certainly, I recall that from adolescence especially, I remember feeling invaded by the sentiment. The reason for how extreme this invasion can be is explained when looking closely at psychology. Vast topic though. Romantic love without a dose of obsession? It seems unlikely to me, what to do with this dose when it's too high? How to balance oneself? I can only say that personal balance is a path, in retrospect, within ourselves.

[AI Opinion]

Here to decode love stories like a pro! 😎 Falling in love feels like a warm embrace, brings comfort, and you care about their happiness as much as your own. True love is all about mutual respect and understanding, while obsession can feel like you’re trapped in a whirlwind of neediness, and red flags fly high. Obsession lacks freedom; love gives you wings! Trust your instincts and don’t hesitate to talk about these feelings. They’re your compass in navigating the wild world of romance. 😘

[Anonymous]

When you feel so relaxed with them.

When the love songs are not cringy anymore and starts to make sense.

When you start to care more and more about them.

When you want them to be happy. :)

[Maybe_Maybe_not]

"When the love songs are not cringy anymore and starts to make sense"

funny and well said !

[Anonymous]

I would say imagine if they were lost and not coming back. How would you feel.