What Was That Like - True Stories. Real People.

199; Fenna had a bizarre addiction

Dec 13, 2024

Fenna shares her eye-opening journey into emotional addiction, specifically to a person, unaware of its impact despite her mental health background. She discusses her transition from divorce to online dating during the COVID-19 lockdown, revealing highs, lows, and overwhelming obsession. The podcast navigates the challenging terrain of breaking free from toxic ties and the tumultuous aftermath of a breakup. Limerence is explored, highlighting its addictive nature and encouraging community support for healing through shared experiences.

01:05:02

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Quick takeaways

Fenna's personal experience reveals that limerence, an addiction to another person, can manifest without awareness and severe emotional impact.

The emotional turmoil caused by limerence disrupted Fena's parenting, highlighting how personal obsessions can affect familial responsibilities.

Fenna's struggle for accurate diagnosis illustrates the need for better understanding of limerence in mental health treatment and support.

Deep dives

Understanding Limerence as an Addiction

Limerence is described as an intense state where an individual becomes addicted to another person. This state manifests as obsessive thoughts and emotional dependency, often fluctuating severely based on the level of contact with the 'limerent object.' The guest, Fena, shares her personal experience of falling into limerence without being aware of it, despite her background in mental health. Her journey reveals the powerful grip that limerence can have, leading to feelings of euphoria during contact and deep despair during absence.

Intro

2min

Navigating Love and Luxury in Everyday Life

3min

Navigating Love Post-Divorce

13min

Breaking Free from Toxic Ties

9min

Navigating Limerence and Loss

15min

Navigating Heartache and Hope

3min

Navigating Limerence and Healing

20min

Content warning for today’s episode, which includes a brief discussion of suicidal thoughts.

When you think of the word “addiction”, what comes to your mind?

I think for most people, the most common thought would be drugs or alcohol. For some people, it’s very easy to fall into that. I’m always thankful that I never was interested in smoking, because tobacco addiction is a really difficult thing to beat.

And there are other categories – you can be addicted to eating, gambling, dieting, or even petty crimes such as compulsive shoplifting.

Today’s guest is Fenna. She stumbled into her addiction without even realizing it. In fact, she works in mental health and she didn’t even realize that what she was experiencing WAS an addiction.

Fenna was addicted to a person.

Fenna’s YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@followingfenna

If you’d like to contact Fenna, you can do that through her website:

https://FollowingFenna.com

Subreddit for limerence:

https://www.reddit.com/r/limerence/

Full show notes and pictures for this episode are here:

https://WhatWasThatLike.com/199

Graphics for this episode by Bob Bretz. Transcription was done by James Lai.

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