Relationships May Be Addictive for Some, Making Breakups More Difficult

Relationships are as addictive as drugs, says new research from Stony Brook University in Long Island, and that may be why some people with more addictive personalities have a difficult time with breakups.

Dr. Arthur Aron, Stony Brook professor of social and health psychology led the research, with looked at the centers of the brain that were activated during breakups and discovered they were areas that affected with motivation, reward, and addiction.

Stony Brook University scientists found evidence that it may be partly due to the areas of the brain that are active during this difficult time.

“This brain imaging study of individuals who were still ‘in love’ with their rejecter supplies further evidence that the passion of ‘romantic love’ is a goal-oriented motivation state rather than a specific emotion,” noted the research. The researchers also noted that brain images were similar for romantic breakups and cocaine cravings.

The study may help to explain why some people have a difficult time working through romantic rejection, and why some people end up stalking their ex-partner or feel suicidal. “The findings are consistent with the hypothesis that romantic love is a specific form of addiction,” the researchers said.

Dr. Aron explains, “Romantic rejection is a major cause of suicides and depression. We have known very little about it. Understanding the neural systems involved is extremely important both for advancing our basic knowledge of intense romantic love in general and of response to rejection in particular.”

The study involved 15 university students whose brains were scanned using “functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). All participants claimed to still be in love with the romantic partner who had rejected them, that they obsessively thought about the person and wanted to get back together.

To measure the brain response, participants were shown photographs of their ex-boyfriend or girlfriend, and then were asked to do some simple math exercises to clear their minds. They were then shown images of a familiar person with whom they were not romantically involved. Images of the ex-partner stimulated addiction centers in the brain very similar to cocaine addition.

Shadra Bruce is a contributing writer for Mental Health News.