Delusion Of Love May Create Erotomania;
Is your Love a form of Psychosis?
There has been research to show that Love can have similar effects to that of a state of psychosis. In a moment I will tell you more about the said research but first;
Remember that feeling when you met your first love? You can’t sleep. It was hard to concentrate because that person was always on your mind. Whenever you are with this person, you are filled with energy. You feel like there is no need for sleep.
Times when you seemed to see their face, or hear their voice; smell their cologne or perfume without the person being any where in sight,
Could these be hallucinations?
Do you get anxious when you are about to meet your lover?
Do you feel that sometimes you feel like there are rituals that you need to do to win their approval?
Taking showers more than usual like three times within an hour.
Count 1 to 7 five times to give you that luck that you need for your date.
Does everything need to be perfect?
If you do, then you might be having symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).
When separated from your lover do you sometimes experience mood fluctuations similar to mild Bi Polar Disorder?
As long as these feelings are not extreme like “Erotomania” you have nothing to be concerned about.
“Erotomania is a rare disorder whereby the subject holds a delusional belief that another person is in love with him or her. The illness is often associated with delusional disorders such as schizophrenia. The term Erotomania is sometimes confused with “obsessive love” or hyper sexuality”.
Source: Wikipedia
The purpose of the research into Erotomania was to evaluate current criteria for diagnosing and classifying primary and secondary Erotomaniacs.
Sufferers were interviewed covering personal and family details. DSM-IV and another criteria which was an adaptation of Ellis and Mellsop’s gave suggestions for the diagnosis of primary and secondary Erotomania.
Most were isolated, without a partner or full-time occupation. 40% had a first-degree relative with a psychiatric history and of that half had a first-degree relative with a mono-delusional disorder.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the post! Am I missing it- can you let us know the source of this research? Erotomania sounds very much like love addiction – interesting to see how many names this type of compulsion goes by. And, thank you for noting that the closest DSM-IV category is OCD.
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Hi Scott,
Thank you for reading our post and taking the time to leave a valuable comment.
More of this research can be found @;
Differential Diagnosis of Addictive Sexual Disorders Using the DSM-IV” Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity 1996, Volume 3, pp 7-21, 1996.by Richard Irons, M. D. and Jennifer P. Schneider, M.D., Ph.D.
The current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) describes certain sexual disorders which are characterized by, or include among their features, excessive and/or unusual sexual urges or behaviours. Common disorders in the differential diagnosis include paraphilias, impulse disorder not otherwise specified (NOS), sexual disorder NOS, bipolar affective disorder, cyclothymic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and adjustment disorder.
Infrequent disorders in the differential diagnosis consist of substance-induced anxiety disorder, substance-induced mood disorder, dissociative disorder, delusional disorder erotomania, obsessive-compulsive disorder, gender identity disorder, and delirium, dementia, or other cognitive disorder. Addictive sexual disorders which do not fit into standard DSM-IV categories can best be diagnosed using an adaptation of the DSM-IV criteria for substance dependence.
Hope you find this useful Scott.
Regards
Linda.
Does a person have erotomania if they are stalking the person they are in love with and have the awareness that the love is unrequited? What I mean is, if they know the person does not love them and they are still stalking them is that still erotomania?
Thanks,
Mia
Hi Mia,
Firstly thank you for taking the time to read our article and for submitting a valuable comment.
It is not easy to diagnose without all the facts. What I will say is, if this person is stalking or harassing then maybe the police should be involved.
Hope this is helpful?
Regards
Gary.
No, the police are not involved. My friend has never physically stalked his object of desire, only on a social networking site. He only sent one email, she rejected him. He hasn’t sent another email but still goes on her site. Again, he knows she isn’t interested but can’t accept it. Is this erotomania or is it just a case of unrequited love? Thanks for any input.
Mia
Thank you Mia.
We hope we have been of help to you…
Take care
Regards
Gary