I’ve blogged about narcissists before, but just to get us all on the same page, the Mayo Clinic research group defines narcissistic personality disorder as “a mental condition in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for excessive attention and admiration, troubled relationships, and a lack of empathy for others.” In …
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Trauma can occur in many different forms. For children, the things that create trauma may not be the same as what creates trauma in adults, but there will be areas where there are significant similarities. In my new book “The Marriage and Relationship Junkie” , the role of trauma in love addiction are explored and …
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  The expanding body of research into brain-based responses to different types of stimuli has provided greater insight into how humans become addicted. In fact, there is actually a pleasure center in the brain, which is the nucleus accumbens. This is part of the brain that  responds to specific triggers, including romance and sexual desire, …
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Breaking up for some people is like withdrawing from drugs. Withdrawal from love is one of the most painful withdrawals because there is a unique connection between the person affected and his or her need for love as a child. During withdrawal people psychologically go back in time and feel all the losses they felt …
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You can’t watch anything on TV these days without seeing an ad for a dating app. The selling point for most of them seems to be that they’re more scientific about making a match or the people who use them are more serious about dating—all leading to some version of, “We’ll make sure you get …
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We all tend to pick partners who reflect the vision we have of ourselves and our world. Unfortunately, that means marriage junkies end up being attracted to partners who remind them of their dysfunctional family relationships, where they never got what they needed. It’s ironic, in a way, because while they’re searching for someone to …
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