The goal of recognizing the "Love Junkie Scan" is not to make you afraid of love. It is to make you aware of your own neurochemistry so that you can finally choose connection over addiction.
Enter the Love Junkie Scan .
Recovery means accepting that love is not a firework. Love is a fireplace. It doesn't burn you; it warms the room for decades. But you have to let your brain heal before you can sit by that fire without trying to jump into the flames. love junkie scan
We’ve all heard the term “love junkie.” It conjures an image of someone who hops from one intense relationship to the next, chasing the dizzying high of a new connection. But what if being a love junkie wasn't just a personality quirk or a sign of poor boundaries? What if it was a literal, neurological condition—a pattern of addiction visible inside the white and gray matter of your brain? The goal of recognizing the "Love Junkie Scan"
By Dr. Nora Simmons, Relationship & Behavioral Health Recovery means accepting that love is not a firework
Most love junkies had emotionally inconsistent caregivers as children. A parent who was loving one minute and rageful the next trained the child’s brain to associate anxiety with love. The scan shows that the amygdala (fear center) is fused to the reward center. You literally cannot tell the difference between terror and excitement.
Using fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) technology, researchers have discovered that when a love junkie looks at a photo of their new partner or recalls a romantic memory, their brain lights up in the same regions as a cocaine addict’s brain when they see a line of powder.