The meaning of love and its bittersweet nature

Paul T.P. Wong, Claude Hélène Mayer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Love is the core of human experience and central to our meaning in life and wellbeing, yet it is also a complex concept full of ambiguity and contradiction. The main purpose of this paper is fourfold: Firstly, we want to clarify questions such as ‘What is the meaning of love?’ and ‘Why is meaning of love so important to us?’ Secondly, we want to explain why love is both suffering and essential for our happiness and mental health. Thirdly, we identify the major types of love and clarify which types are constructive and which are destructive. We also identify the key dimensions of true love. Finally, we emphasise that love does not always mean happiness; rather, it is meant to be a school to teach us important lessons and to make us complete. Therefore, we need to embrace suffering and at the same time cultivate the constructive types of love to improve our mental health and to make the world a more compassionate place.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)33-41
Number of pages9
JournalInternational Review of Psychiatry
Volume35
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Keywords

  • Meaning of love
  • agape
  • constructive love
  • cross-cultural differences
  • destructive love
  • harmony
  • love is suffering
  • mental health
  • taxonomy of love
  • wellbeing

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Psychiatry and Mental Health

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