Understanding Limerence: An Integrative Review of the Etiology, Neurobiology, and Treatment of Obsessive Romantic Infatuation

Abstract

Limerence is a state of involuntary, obsessive romantic infatuation first named by Dorothy Tennov (1979), it remains under-recognized in clinical practice despite its considerable overlap with recognized psychiatric constructs. This review synthesizes research on the phenomenology, neurobiology, and treatment of limerence. It traces the construct from Tennov’s original interview-based studies through contemporary neuroimaging work linking romantic passion to reward-system activity resembling substance and behavioral addiction (Fisher et al., 2005, 2010), and to serotonergic findings that liken early romantic preoccupation to obsessive-compulsive disorder (Marazziti et al., 1999). The review examines the role of uncertainty and intermittent reinforcement in sustaining limerent preoccupation, compares limerence to manic and hypomanic states, and presents a cognitive-behavioral case-conceptualization framework linking core beliefs, conditional assumptions, coping strategies, and ritualistic behavior. Two composite, de-identified case illustrations are presented alongside an overview of exposure-based and cognitive interventions (Wyant, 2021). The review closes with a discussion of culturally specific considerations for limerence in the Indian context, including age-disparate limerent attachments, and outlines directions for indigenous empirical research, given the near-absence of India-specific data on this construct.