Love rules the world. People started wars, did heroic deeds, and created masterpieces in their name. This powerful feeling still rules and changes people’s lives. It can be different. In order not to get stuck in a relationship that doesn’t bring you pleasure, you must be able to distinguish the depth of feelings. According to Ancient Greek philosophy, there are different kinds of love. Today, they are also used in psychology to describe the intensity of feelings.
It’s important to remember that emotions can change over time. For example, mad love is replaced by a strong affinity. Or vice versa, strong passion can turn into negative feelings: uncontrollable anger, irritation, or even hate. Besides, such negative feelings are not the opposite of love, but their integral part. The opposite of love is indifference. If you don’t feel anything for a person, this is the end of the relationship. But if you still have strong feelings for your partner, there is a chance to rekindle old feelings.
Love is a complex chemical process that occurs in the human body. Let’s try to figure out what kind of romantic feelings are there and what to do with them when there are single men near me.
Types of love
- Eros (passion). Eros is named after the Greek god of love. In such feelings, a person wants to have total control over a partner. Eros means passionate feelings based more on physical attraction. It’s not always possible to build strong relationships on passion alone. Eros can lead to short whirlwind romances, filled with destructive emotions. It can grow into a long-term relationship if the sexual passion is complemented by other, deeper types of love.
- Philia (friendship). They say, happy marriages are based on a deep friendship. Philia means equality, understanding, and empathy towards your partner. Philia is believed to be more valuablу for women seeking women because it involves a spiritual bond. But if your marriage only is based only on friendship, you may have only platonic feelings. However, if you add a bit of passion, you may get a happy and long-term marriage based on mutual support, acceptance, trust, and understanding.
- Ludus (game). This is the type of love you may experience at the first meeting – when a girl says she likes you. The heart stops when you look at the object of your love, and you feel constant euphoria and a desire to possess him/her. This is a playful form of love with a lot of flirting and a desire to attract attention. This type of love can be called “infatuation”. Usually, this includes superficial and short-term feelings that appear when you first meet. However, such emotions can be a good basis for a long-term relationship if infatuation turns into deeper and warmer feelings.
- Storge (family). This type of love usually represents warm family relationships between parents and children. In a female-male relationship, Storge is possible either if a man and a woman are childhood friends, or if they have been together for a long time. Storge means warm feelings: tenderness, care, affection, trust, and reliability. Family is the place where you are supported and accepted for who you are.
- Mania. Mania is a codependent relationship when the person becomes obsessed with his/her partner. This feeling often arises in people with low self-esteem, who don’t love themselves and just try to fill the inner emptiness at the expense of the love of others. Mania is often accompanied by total control over the life of the object of love, anger, and unreasonable jealousy. This type of love is especially destructive when feelings are not reciprocal.
- Pragma (enduring love). Pragma is not a marriage of convenience without love. This is a type of love with an eye to happiness. Pragmatic relationships are controlled by reason rather than feelings. Usually, this is a mutually beneficial and convenient union of two people who fit together and get along well. They make like each other’s appearance, character traits, actions, and worldview. This is a kind of “love in exchange for love”. By creating a marriage, people can be flexible and meet each other halfway without losing their own personalities. The pragma can grow into a happy and long-term relationship.
- Agape (perfect love). This is the highest level of feelings – unconditional love. Such thing is often described in novels and poetry. Agape means affinity and spiritual connection. This type of love includes only warm feelings: passion, tenderness, care, acceptance, trust, and loyalty. Agape is often compared to swan fidelity.
We all strive for happiness and perfect relationships. But in most cases, great love should not be sought, but created. Any relationship should be worked on. It is important to make compromises and support each other. And of course, any flame can go out if you don’t throw firewood into it.
