Is Romantic Love Really All That?
I believe society places too much importance on romantic love.
In the media, romantic love is portrayed as the ultimate form of love. Once you find a significant other you’ve made it, you’ve found your person and are set for life.
This value can lead to harmful beliefs and expectations about romantic love and partners. It can lead to spending a lot of time and effort on relationship status rather than other enjoyable or important activities.
A partner should not complete you or make you happier than other people, that’s a lot of pressure to put on one person. A partner should be an addition to your life and push you to grow.
Romantic love is not a fix to all problems in life. Every internal issue you’re struggling with will continue to affect you in a relationship. Working through your internal struggles is the best thing to do.
Often people are unhappy about being single because of the value they place on romantic love. Someone feeling unhappy about being single can result in constantly seeking romantic love. People end up settling for someone who does not meet their needs and possibly find themselves in traumatic situations.
I’ve noticed that when people are constantly seeking love, every new person they meet is seen as a potential partner. Once someone is ruled out it leads to disappointment and other negative emotions. I used to do this behavior and shifted into considering every new person as a potential friend.
Single life can be enjoyable. If coming from an unhealthy relationship, you get to breathe and not worry about negative reactions from your partner. Single life also allows you to get comfortable with yourself. You have the opportunity to learn a lot about yourself and how you navigate the world alone.
Other types of love exist that are equally important as romantic such as platonic and familial love. The majority of what is being sought within romantic relationships can be achieved within platonic relationships. You can feel loved within these types of relationships, you just have to inform others about behavior that makes you feel loved.
