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LONDON, Feb 14, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- Valentine's Day aside, a British clinical psychologist wants it known that falling in love is a destabilizing mental illness, the Washington Times reports.
The author of "Love Sick: Love as a Mental Illness," Frank Tallis maintains a private practice in London, where he says he often has patients who are suffering mentally because of love.
"Love seems to have the power to destabilize people emotionally," Tallis said. "Particularly in vulnerable individuals, it can be very difficult to cope."
But once the reality sinks in, medication might be helpful, Tallis said.
"When they begin to fall out of love, serotonin levels begin to rise," he said. "It's possible the administration of certain forms of anti-obsessional drugs, like Prozac, could ameliorate some of the obsessional symptoms of love."
However, Lourdes Griffin, administrator for the outpatient behavioral health service at Washington Hospital Center, has a simpler take on love: if people begin acting irrationally due to falling in love, they were probably previously mentally ill.
Copyright 2005 by United Press International.
