The word love has a multitude of definitions, but they all are based on the same idea: love is a group of behaviors and emotions characterized by emotional intimacy, desire, intimacy, commitment, and reciprocity. It typically involves caring, proximity, security, attraction, sharing, affection, and trust in a relationship. It is often associated with an assortment of positive emotions, such as happiness, excitement, vitality, peace, and joy. However, the love that is most needed in a relationship is unconditional love, which is the best kind of love.
Although romantic love may encompass all of these traits, it is not without its faults. While there are certainly some negative feelings that are associated with love, the good news is that those feelings are simply symptoms of a broken relationship. While love may sometimes create unrealistic expectations for the other person, it also often creates unrealistic expectations for oneself. When a relationship is falling apart, people may sometimes think that they have fallen out of love with each other, when actually the problem is one of expectation. Here are the four main types of love that are most common in relationships.
Romantic love is the emotional type of love that describes true love. It takes place in the brain’s reward pathway. This is where you “locate” your partner psychologically, based on behaviors and attributes that you find attractive. Your brain responds to the rewards associated with these behaviors and attributes, which cause a flood of dopamine to be released into your brain.
The second major type of love is the physical form of love. Physical love often occurs during moments of intimacy. It can take the form of sexual intimacy, such as when two lovers awaken in the morning and cuddle together or during foreplay and masturbation. However, physical affection does not necessarily equate to romantic feelings. If one partner does not feel the same way towards his or her partner that does not mean that they are not lovers – they may just be experiencing different forms of affection.
Last but not least is the “love of intellect” type of love. Intellectual feelings are not related to physical attractions – such as lust. Rather, intellectual thoughts and emotions are the result of shared ideas, memories, experiences and abstract thoughts. This type of love is most common in relationships where one partner has a strong intellect and the other does not.
Romantic love includes all of the above as well as additional physiological components as well. People in love tend to experience increases in heart rate as well as blood pressure. This is due to the fact that the body recognizes the need for affection and the feelings associated with it. People in love also typically sleep better than those in other relationships. Overall, a healthy balance of the five elements – love, lust, intimacy, intellect and affection – results in physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being.