A neuroscientist explains how to break free from romantic infatuation

"Limerence is a state that many of us go into in the early stages of love: a profound romantic infatuation with another person," Bellamy says. "They give you an extraordinary natural high, so you feel a powerful desire to bond with that person."

But if you're unable to actually bond with them, and the limerence goes on too long, "it can shift from happiness and euphoria into anxiety and craving," he says.

Bellamy, an author and academic based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, talks to Life Kit about how to identify limerence and break its cycle. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.