Are there people that are addicted to love?

Trying to find purpose is a life-long process. Since life has no purpose except our genetic programming to survive and pass on our genes, it’s not surprising that our complex, evolved relationships have encountered numerous complications that make it difficult for them to last.

I just posted an answer to a very similar question, so I’ll copy it here:

New love triggers massive releases of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which feels fantastic. It’s a major component of what we mean when we talk about the feeling of being in love. And it is literally addictive (dopamine addiction is at the heart of gambling addiction, for instance).

But this heavy dopamine release doesn’t last forever. Eventually, being in the presence of that “special person” no longer gives you that dopamine high. This has some evolutionary benefit, because while riding that high is great for procreation, it makes one rather dysfunctional in other aspects of life.

The effect is that we can go through a kind of dopamine withdrawal, where we start looking for a new way to generate that dopamine release.

There is another neurotransmitter, oxytocin, which is associated more with the pleasure of companionship— a “cuddlier”, less passionate feeling than that delivered by dopamine. oxytocin is much lower-key than dopamine, and doesn’t have the same addictive quality. The success of long-term relationships seems to depend on being able to be content with the glow of oxytocin rather than the blaze of dopamine.

Might as well face it.

People who marry over and over are most likely people who are terrified of being alone. Perhaps if they’d spend some time learning to be alone and learning to love themselves, they’d find a partner that would last, and if not, perhaps that would be okay.

What you describe in your details is not an addiction to love; it is basically the absence of such. More like a self-absorption. People who go from marriage to marriage, mate to mate, bed to bed, etc. are searching in vain for love to be addicted to in the 1st place. I can imagine why they can’t, but for the sake of this question, they never find what they want in the way they want it. Like a meal that looks good but has no nutrition or ability to fill you up, but it taste good while you are eating it. If you love someone, you love someone. I love lasagna, just because I get a bad plate or one not made or cooked correctly, I am not going to hate lasagna. Those who travel from partner to partner, never really had any love there, less what served them for a time. When hard or severe rough patches hit, they bail and seek to find a relationship that has all they want with no or very little work. They believe they are addicted to love but they never really found love; more of a deep prolong sense of lust.