OCD of falling in love: symptoms and effects on the love relationship

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder of falling in love is a problem for the person and for the relationship.

Some people suffer from repetitive and obsessive thoughts; this is to some extent normal, and occurs a lot, especially during times of stress or anxiety.

However, when these obsessive-type thoughts are repeated very frequently over a long period of time and are accompanied by equally recurrent and uncontrollable behaviors that we perform to try to alleviate that discomfort, we could be facing a psychopathology: OCD, or Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

In this article we will talk about one of the forms that OCD can take: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder of falling in love..

What is OCD?

The Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder or OCD is a psychological disorder in which the person presents a series of unwanted and recurrent thoughts (obsessions) that produce a lot of discomfort from the first moment. unwanted and recurrent thoughts (obsessions) that produce a lot of discomfort from the first moment, and for which the person is forced to respond in a stereotyped and repetitive way (compulsions) to annul the power of these disturbing mental contents.

Thus, a vicious circle of obsessions and compulsions is produced, since both elements reinforce each other. Although the compulsions relieve the discomfort generated by the obsessions in a matter of seconds, in the long run they make these obsessions gain influence over the life of the person, who will be more predisposed to attract to his consciousness this type of thoughts or mental images.

This disorder is characterized, among other things, by the apparent incapacity to avoid or to prevent the appearance of these obsessions or compulsions.All of them seriously hinder the normal functioning of the person in his or her daily life and have a negative influence both at a personal and social level.

On the other hand, some of the risk factors that favor the appearance of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in a person may be: a family history of OCD, especially in first-degree relatives; the presence of childhood trauma in the person, especially cases of child abuse, and a certain brain structure that favors the appearance of the disorder, although there are no Biological elements that are the sole cause of the appearance of this psychopathology.

As the psychopathology that it is, OCD can only be diagnosed by mental health professionals.and this is done through the exploration of signs and symptoms. However, these can take different forms, so there are several categories into which it is possible to classify the types of OCD.

In the field of love relationships there is also a variant that can be a real hell for the person who suffers from it, called "OCD of falling in love", here is a summary of its characteristics.

What is OCD of falling in love?

As its name indicates OCD of falling in love is a type of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder that takes place in the context of a love relationship.It is characterized by the occurrence of obsessive thoughts related to the possible defects of the relationship in which one is in, or with the person with whom one is in that relationship. Unlike the usual doubts that appear in any relationship, people with OCD are impervious to any rational thought or evidence about the reality of the relationship and are unable to overcome or eliminate their negative and fatalistic thoughts about the course they believe the relationship is taking.

That is why infatuation OCD prevents the person from evaluating the love relationship on the basis of evidence, real facts and even positive aspects of the relationship itself.and all their judgments and analyses are subject to their obsessions, doubts, ideas and pessimistic thoughts.

Some of the most common characteristics that manifest themselves in a person with OCD of infatuation can be the permanent questioning and negative ideas about whether the relationship is going well or not; if the partner is the right one; if one is a good enough person for that boyfriend, girlfriend, husband or wife, or if the intensity of the relationship is ideal at all times, also comparing it with other couples around him or her.

Generally, the OCD of falling in love that is not treated in therapy tends to lead to the breakup of the relationship due to the impossibility that the person who suffers from it has of committing with his/her partner in an honest and open way, and also to the states of anxiety, frustration and anguish that he/she experiences.

Are you looking for professional psychological assistance services?

If you are interested in psychotherapeutic support to deal with forms of discomfort such as relationship problems or poor management of impulses or emotions, please contact our team of professionals. In Cribecca Psychology we have been working for years with patients of all ages; you can count on us in our center located in Seville, or through our online therapy modality.

Bibliographical references:

• Doron, G.; Derby, D.; Szepsenwol, O. (2014). Relationship obsessive compulsive disorder (ROCD): A conceptual framework. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 3(2): pp. 169 - 180.
• Doron, G.; Szepsenwol, O.; Karp, E.; Gal, N. (2013). Obsessing about intimate-relationships: Testing the double relationship-vulnerability hypothesis. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 44(4): pp. 433 - 440.
• Doron, Guy; Derby, D., Szepsenwol. O., & Talmor. D. (2012). Tainted Love: exploring relationship-centered obsessive compulsive symptoms in two non-clinical cohorts. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders 1 (1): pp. 16 - 24.