Love and a sense of belonging are part of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Simply put, love is a basic human necessity. As social creatures, love binds human beings and helps give life purpose. 

The aspects of love can transcend our understanding, but many report that love gives them physical and emotional feelings. Humans possess an innate ability to nurture themselves and others, whether it’s another human, a pet, or an inanimate object such as a garden. 

Generally, humans yearn for a sense of belonging within a community and seek lifetime partners. But love can go beyond romantic relationships. Unconditional love for family members and friends can be viewed as an act of kindness or a way of validating those in susceptible situations.

In the ancient Greek language, there existed five forms of love: familial love, friendly or platonic love, romantic love, guest love, and divine love. There is love as long as there is kindness, compassion, and affection.

Overall, love can bring positivity and a sense of comfort, but love has dark sides that cause more harm than good. Unrequited love, empty love, infatuated love, compassionate love, self-love, and courtly love are all terms identified by modern authors to describe dark love. 

These forms of love can cause isolation, mistrust and sometimes lead to homicide or suicide. Many serial killers have a family history full of dysfunction and an inability to receive love due to how they were raised. Narcissists are classically known to be too deep in self-love. 

In total, love is profound. It’s no joke. It can save or destroy someone. However, despite the positives and negatives, love is a basic human need. Can we live without it? Perhaps we could, but it’s likely that we wouldn’t have much success without it.

Feelings of love can release feel-good neurotransmitters in the brain that boost our mood. It can raise our heart rate and increase oxytocin production and norepinephrine. Some say these feelings are necessary for survival, but at the end of the day, it’s all relative. 

Love is as essential as a well-balanced diet. It’s the opposite of loneliness and helps fight depression and other diseases throughout the body. Having a balanced sense of love in one aspect or another can keep us motivated and determined to continue through life. 

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Written by the digital marketing team at Creative Programs & Systems: https://www.cpsmi.com/