Obsessive patterns in relationships can include constantly thinking about someone, continually checking your phone to see if he/she texted, ruminating about what this person is doing or not doing, and feeling afraid of losing the person. Bonding with a partner is a natural part of getting to know someone and of falling in love. But getting overly attached goes beyond healthy bonding and is disempowering. When you truly love someone you’re not interested in possessing the person or keeping him or her in your clutches because you’re afraid of losing the relationship. Instead, you respect your partner’s autonomy and spirit. Obsessive / possessive relationships can be very painful. Take the following quiz to determine if you have obsessive patterns.
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How to interpret this quiz:
6-8 yeses indicate that you are extremely overly attached.
3-5 yeses indicate that you are moderately overly attached.
1-3 yeses indicate that you have a tendency to overly attach.
A score of zero indicates that you have healthy bonding with your partner.
Judith Orloff, MD is a New York Times bestselling author whose books include The Genius of Empathy: Practical Tools to Heal Yourself, Your Relationships and the World, The Empath’s Survival Guide, and Thriving as an Empath, which presents daily self-care tools for sensitive people. Her upcoming children’s book The Highly Sensitive Rabbit is about a caring rabbit who learns to embrace her gifts of sensitivity through the love and support of other animals. A UCLA Psychiatric Clinical Faculty Member, she blends the pearls of conventional medicine with cutting-edge knowledge of intuition, empathy, and energy. Dr. Orloff specializes in treating highly sensitive people in her private practice and online internationally. Her work has been featured on The Today Show, CNN, Oprah Magazine, the New York Times, and USA Today. Dr. Orloff has spoken at Google-LA and TEDx. Explore more at www.drjudithorloff.com
