Love. That great mystery. Musicians write songs about it, poets write poems about, and scientists try to discover and identify its inner workings. It’s no secret that love is an unruly, unpredictable, and powerful force. The driving force for many of us, whether that’s romantic or platonic love. But what is really happening when we’re in love?And how can we sustain it when it arrives?
For many, love is an unalterable happenstance. A lucky coincidence akin to cupid’s arrow striking without warning. It’s a romantic notion, to be sure, but hardly the truth. Still this preconception informs many individuals’ decisions about love. Staying in broken relationships out of fear of being alone, or moving from one relationship to the next never understanding why the same patterns emerge again and again.
Dr. Sue Johnson, renown couples’ therapist, researcher, and author offers us some much sought-after clarity in the nebulous haze of love and relationships.
- Committed relationships are possible.
In fact, the quality of our relationships is a key predictor of our happiness and continued well-being throughout our lives. It is vital to our existence as human beings and Dr. Johnson’s book, Love Sense, sheds light on the how and the why. Grounded in science, Love Sense and Sue Johnson assure us love is actually more logical than we’ve been led to believe. Once we understand the science of attachment and brain theory behind it.
- Love is adaptive and functional.
There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all love. It is experience and context-dependent. Beyond that, it is malleable, reparable, and resilient. This is great news for a society obsessed with the idea of being loved yet doesn’t have the first clue about how to really love someone back
- Stable and loving relationships are the cornerstone of human happiness and well-being.
A good relationship is better health insurance than a careful diet and a better anti-aging strategy than taking vitamins. You read that correctly. This is not constrained to romantic love.
Loving parent-child relationships foster healthy offspring and is the single most important determinant to a child’s success in all aspects of their development: social, academic, and emotional.
Dr. Johnson’sLove Sense outlines how attachment opens the door to the revolutionary science of emotional bonding. Asserting that our need for connection is our first and most basic instinct.Positive relationships buffer us from stress and illness, assist in brain development, and supports our urge to explore and create. Are you ready to unlock your relationship potential?
John Gallagher, LMHC has been a practicing therapist for over 20 years and specializes in both individual and couples’ therapy. Schedule your appointment today.