Ep.3/ Unrequited Love
Is obsession a biological force within us? In the book, Unrequited Women and Romantic Obsession, Lisa states, "Animals denied an expected pleasure will bite or attack." Is obsession a normal biological response to unrequited love? If so, what now?
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Are you feeling the devastation of unrequited love? We have all been there; a broken heart and the dreadful pain that ensues. Sometimes, things can go terribly awry after our beloved denies us. Is obsession a biological force within us? In the book, Unrequited Women and Romantic Obsession, Lisa states, "Animals denied an expected pleasure will bite or attack." Is obsession a normal biological response to unrequited love? If so, what now?
Well, Lisa A Phillips does an excellent job explaining the reasons unrequited love can lead to obsessive love. Lisa has recently written a book, Unrequited Women and Romantic Obsession. Harper Collins just released the b on January 27th. In this book, Lisa beautifully weaves real life stories and research data to explain the trials and tribulations of unrequited love.
The stories of pain and anguish when the beloved denies his lover deeply resonated with me. I felt such great compassion for those in these stories. Lisa describes it in her book, "There's an emotional honesty in these moments - the unwanted woman is doing something instead of sinking into despair. She is swept up by instinct, by the profound human need for attachment, which the era of romantic practicality has tried to reduce to a game."
Romantic love is a powerful force in our lives. Our culture celebrates passionate love. Passionate love lights up the brain like cocaine. Our culture doesn't celebrate cocaine use. Should we celebrate passionate love so readily?
Our culture celebrates, even more, unrequited passionate love. In movies and in books, unrequited love is much more romantic than mutual love. In the tv series Friends, Rachel and Ross and their unrequited love were much more interesting than their mutual love. The series ended when Rachel and Ross mutually exchanged their love to each other.
The power of love can create masterpieces in music, art, and literature. Passionate love can transform us for the better or it can ruin our lives. Lisa sums it up beautifully in these words from her book, "We may need to learn as individuals and as a culture, ways to honor passion by confining and using it instead of letting it diminish us."
