Is It Love or Is It Addiction? Part IX
POWER PLAYS
When love is without power, it goes idle. When power is without love, it injures.
- Brenda Schaeffer, from Loving Me, Loving You
A common sign of love addiction and unhealthy relationships is the use of power plays. Power plays are manipulative behaviors that keep people relating on an unequal basis. The myth underlying power plays is that there is not enough power for two and is based on the belief that people with power have control and get what they want.
Is It Love or Is It Addiction? Part VIII
SIGNS OF HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS
The affirmation of one’s own life, happiness, growth, freedom, is rooted in one’s capacity to love—in care, respect, responsibility, and knowledge — Erich Fromm
We do need other people. In our evolution as human beings, there is a developing awareness that we are linked with other people in a very profound way. As a psychotherapist I am reminded how basic is the need to experience giving and receiving love, of healthy belonging.