Romantic Dependence / La Dépendance amoureuse: Quand le sexe et l'amour deviennent des drogues

?I'm always falling in love, but it never lasts, ?iedo everything I can to seduce a partner, but when I succeed, I'm always disappointed, and I start looking elsewhere, ?She has no right to live without me, ?I'must be in a relationship to feel that I exist, ?I need my share of cuddles every day, ?I only make love to please my partner All of these comments ? and others like them ? illustrate situations of romantic dependence.Love addicts are all different: some are pathologically dependent on seduction, passion and fusion; others cannot ?let go? of their partner; others are hooked on sex. But they all have one thing in common: love addicts are incapable of having a mature relationship. It can be argued that emotional dependence is not love ? just another form of dependence and that it is necessary to grow up in order to give love a chance.This book gives a clear and simple presentation of the major types of romantic dependence. It also provides a rigorous explanation of the causes of the various forms of dependence: to soothe an anxiety, to punish oneself, to affI'm oneself, to forget, to produce powerful sensations and intense pleasure, to fill a void.After examining the various forms of dependence, the author explains how to overcome them and how to progress toward iedividuation in love.A psychiatrist, psychotherapist and professor of sexology at the University of Nantes, François-Xavier Poudat specialises in therapy for couples and the treatment of sexual disorders. He is the author of Bien vivre sa sexualité (2004).