Love is a wonderful feeling worth living for, but often people tend to mistake dependence on a loved one for love, and such relationships can hardly be called healthy. How to distinguish true love from love-dependence. Love is a feeling characteristic of a person, a deep attachment to another person or object, a feeling of deep sympathy. Love addiction is a relationship characterized by an obsessive emotional fixation of a person on a significant other person. In this case, the person inside feels deep helplessness, and sees the world around him as threatening and harsh, and the only way to get support, understanding and a sense of security is love. A person with love addiction cannot understand what impression he makes on others and what their reaction to his behavior is. While we experience true love, we may still sometimes feel angry with our partner, want to be alone, or feel negative about their actions. And in a relationship with a love addiction, a person regards any demand and criticism as a betrayal; he cannot admit that he is not perfect or makes a mistake. Thus, the individual wants to compensate for the feeling of his own inferiority through relationships. In this case, a person needs some kind of friend who would constantly confirm that he is good and admire him. That is, he deceives himself, believing that he loves the other, but in fact he only feels gratitude for the fact that his partner admires him. The basic difference between love and dependence is that in the first case, the main thing is a feeling of attachment to a person, acceptance of oneself and others as they are, and in the other case, the desire to compensate for self-doubt, and if this does not happen, the relationship changes dramatically. That is, here a person does not accept the other - his individuality, desires, shortcomings and “positive” qualities; he rather expects his partner to save him. Such relationships for an individual are a means of survival in this “unfriendly” world, for which he pays a very high price - humility, self-denial and dependence on a partner. In this case, the feeling of inferiority is so great that the person does not believe in sincere self-love, and any manifestation of it raises suspicions about hidden motives. For example, a girl does not believe that a guy truly loves her, she is sincerely convinced that he only needs sexual relations from her, and all his actions and confessions are aimed at achieving his goal. In this case, the person will constantly demand evidence of the love of another, which manifests itself in jealousy, the demand for constant, insatiable love. That is, he wants to be loved and approved in any case - despite the most inappropriate behavior. The main signs of addiction to love: - it is difficult for a person to distinguish his thoughts and feelings from the thoughts and feelings of another person; - if others have problems or negative feelings, then he considers himself guilty; - a person constantly wants to receive support, approval, “to be good” "for others, to live up to expectations, and if this is not the case - feels severe discomfort; - tendency to idealize others, and if they do not confirm “their status" - severe disappointment; - inability to protect oneself due to fear of fear of being rejected; - excessive gullibility . In order to build mature, adult and, most importantly, truly loving relationships, it is very important to be able to give something without demanding anything in return, and at the same time already feel great pleasure, accept yourself and the other person as they are, and soberly assess personal qualities. It is also important to respect your partner, his feelings, interests, and personal territory. Significant for relationships is the ability to give support to another, but at the same time remain yourself, without infringing on your individuality, appreciate what you have and thank each other for it.