The Science behind Obsession.

On my youtube channel where I discuss relationship and lifestyle issues with my amazing audience, we started discussing the topic of obsession last week, and we established cognitive differences between love and obsession. We were successfully able to draw the line clearly between love and obsession and we came to the conclusion that obsession isn't healthy for a relationship and has to be worked on immediately. While speaking about it, I realized there are scientific connections with obsession and I decided to do my research on the topic.

Obsession is defined as recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses, or images that are experienced, at some time during the disturbance, as intrusive and inappropriate and that cause marked anxiety or distress. 1

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Obsession is not only with humans, but some people can also get obsessed with animals, furniture, artworks, gambling, social media, and other things, this post is aimed at exploring the scientific view of obsession. The level of obsession varies greatly depending on the cause of the obsession. Biologically, obsession stems from a problem developed in the pathway between the ''orbitofrontal cortex and the basal ganglia'', which happens to be a group of nuclei found in the brain, this nuclei play a big role in cognition and emotion amongst other basic functions. Obsession occurs in the form of urges, thoughts, dreams, and even fantasies.

The problem is developed from increased metabolic activity, found in the bitofrontal cortex, the increased metabolic activity is due to the imbalance in the levels of serotonin and dopamine which are two basic important neurotransmitters extremely necessary for forming emotions. This will result in, making a person become more emotionally invested in and become possessive towards some stimuli.2

From clinical research, addiction to certain things disrupts the processing of the brain, dictating the desires of the individual and the types of habits formed, it even goes as far as creating a set of new habits or making the previous one really intense. Through intense scientific study, research done hopes to cure compulsive behaviors like gambling, excessive shopping habits, and even some excessive possessive traits towards other humans. The extreme feeling of obsession comes with 3 factors;

• Uncontrollable urge: When you are obsessed with someone or something, there is always this uncontrollable urge to just stay with the person, have the person around, stay with the person, move around with the person, etc.

• Insatiable desire: Never getting enough positive affirmations, never getting enough time spent together, and always yearning for more.

• Disregard consequences: With an obsessive trait, you can skip work just to spend more time with your partner, disregarding the possible consequences of losing your job.

The basic difference between passion and obsession lies in the ability to control certain things. You can be passionate about someone and something but you really know when to take a break and focus on something else, the moment you lack the ability to control your feelings or urge to act in certain ways at the time, there is a great chance of obsession going on there.

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There are different types of obsession, it is possible for someone to experience one or more types of obsessions.

Sexual obsessions: It is a normal feeling to look out for the best in the people you love, you want them to be happy and successful too but when that feeling gets extreme that you become excessively particular about that partner and then it turns into a controlling habit, then obsession is built. At a point like that, you begin to see the person you love as an object you possess rather than a human who has their own life to live. Some of the noticed symptoms are;

• Spying on your partner constantly.

• Hypersensitivity.

• Constantly seeking validation.

• Intense feeling of jealousy.

• Low self-esteem.

• A request for constant contact, regular phone calls, and text messages.

• Extreme display of emotion.

• Ignoring other loved ones to simply focus on just this person.

Thoughts about self-hurt: Having a repeated sense of trying to hurt yourself on a regular especially when you feel threatened by your partner leaving, is a huge sign of obsession.

Regular feeling of anxiety: Always act carefully not to speak to the person you love in a certain type of way, even when you know they have done something wrong, you do not want to say anything to offend them because you are just really scared they may leave.

Is Obsession and Compulsion the same?

Compulsions are constant repeated behavioral of trying to deal with obsessive thoughts. Obsession and compulsions are different but they sometimes go hand in hand, in the sense that, obsessions may actually result in compulsions. Sometimes, people develop compulsion because they just have the mentality that, if they are careful enough, most of the negative things will be prevented from happening. 3

The possible treatment for depression.

Overcoming obsession in a relationship is achievable but it begins with, identifying and coming to terms with the fact that you are really obsessed with the person, and then having the willingness to work things out is also necessary, let's get through some of the few steps that will help you overcome depression.

Identify your obsessive trait: You really have to admit that you are obsessive (of course, if you are), once you know there is a problem, you begin to work towards how to fix the problem.

Understand the difference between genuine and artificial love: You can either love someone for who they are or you choose to create a memory in your head about who they are. Genuine love is loving people for whom they really are even if you can change one or two things about their personality, The moment you realize your personality and the personality of your partner do not align, when the partner isn't ready to go through the process of change, it is better to let the relationship go, it is better to gt separated than to be seen as someone who is extremely controlling or obsessed.

Stay Away If possible, stay away from the cause of the obsession, staying away will appropriately help you recover.

Practice meditation: Constantly thinking about your partner could fuel negative thoughts and emotions. Practicing meditation can help prevent every feeling of obsessive thinking and relieve it. Meditate thoughtfully over your life and things that will bring progress to you instead of your relationship/partner all the time.

Love yourself: One of the main reasons why people become extremely obsessed with another person is, due to the inadequate amount of self-love. Improve on loving yourself better.

Seek professional help: Seeking the help of a psychologist and therapist to help you get over this, condition. The therapist could take you through some of these therapeutic procedures depending on the cause of the problem.

• Cognitive behavioral therapy.
• Dialectical behavioural therapy.
• Play therapy (usually for children).
• Talk therapy.

Medications can also be taken in order to solve these issues. There are certain approved medications like; Fluvoxamine (Luvox), Sertraline (Zoloft), Citalopram (Celexa), and Paroxetine (Paxil). 4

Conclusion.

Obsession is a serious issue that should not be taken with leviety, once you notice the signs in yourself or any of your loved one, seek appropriate help instantly.

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For further studies.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128012383051862

http://home.blnkpage.org/health-science/the-science-of-obsession/

https://psychcentral.com/ocd/psychology-of-obsessions#next-steps

https://withtherapy.com/therapist-insights/how-to-deal-with-obsessive-thoughts/