I also bought your book 🙂

Thanks Mehg! Hope you enjoy it.

Interesting to revisit this thread a year on. I agree about the impact of lockdown on addiction in general, and self-medication with LO fantasies. I fear there are going to be some long term effects on what might be called “population psychology” as a result of the pandemic. I’m noticing that my friends and family seem more short-tempered than they used to be (me too), and have read that this anecdotal finding holds up statistically. Not too surprising I guess, when we’ve been trained to treat other people as a biohazard for a year.

Little choice, I know, but now we’ll learn what the consequences have been…

It makes absolute sense that the addict brain would suggest LO as a way to soothe and distract/create some diverting drama as a way to cope with lockdown boredom and/or anxiety. I imagine non-limerents all over the world have turned to drugs, alcohol, eating disorders and any other number of coping behaviours during lockdown(s).

I also bought your book 🙂

Oh thanks for the recommendation. I’ve just bought that and Tennov’s book.

Thank you too, Beth 🙂 Hope you enjoy it.

We began messaging and both found ourselves isolated away from our families for reasons of safety for a period; she developed COVID and had to isolate away from her family for two weeks and I had to isolate away from my wife for fourteen weeks. Over this time we began to message and chat a lot as friends until it came to an abrupt end in July.

Unwittingly I (we) developed feelings for each other that we couldn’t act upon and didn’t want to act upon but the brain chemicals had different ideas! This caused me to question everything I had ever believed, including the love for my wife and led to me being sectioned and spending three weeks in a mental hospital. I was diagnosed as bipolar but believe a lot of it was the guilt and shame.

However since then I have read a lot about limerence and realise that is what I am suffering from. We have been largely NC for five months now but the limerence is still strong. I have done the course, read the books, tried hypnotherapy and all have worked to a degree but NC remains a daily struggle despite the damage it has caused.

I look forward to the day when I am free from the limerence and my life is slowly getting back on track.

Looking back I was maybe limerent for her 27 years ago, and by meeting up all those years later this resurfaced with a vengeance. I doubt I will be free of this anytime soon, especially as COVID and lockdown intensified the time we could spend together and being isolated from normal life definitely played a part in that.

I do find it useful to read on others stories on forums and reading about the chemistry behind it certainly helps me rationalise it a lot.

Here’s to a limerent free life at some point.

come on Matt…spill…. 😉

Thank you so much for the warm welcome, Jaideux.

I ripped off the bandage before I was on the other side of this LE. As soon as I logged back into the app I felt a *rush* and knew it was a mistake. What it has done, though, is brought me to a place where I’ve actually taken the time to research what is happening to me psychologically and physiologically. It’s a start and the healing has already begun. A solid commitment to my sobriety is key too.

I have an embarrassing story triggered by morphine while I was in the hospital. Eh, oh well…

Hi Jo and welcome!
Yes most of us have embarrassing stories that were triggered by an ‘adult’ beverage or two.
It’s awesome that you are so self-aware and you will be okay….this is a safe place to heal and strengthen yourself so you will be able to take control of limerence instead of it controlling you!