I don't. And that's exactly why I stopped. Rewind the clock 15 years. When an event planner gave us a truly ridiculous quote for a small wedding, my partner and I booked a flight to Las Vegas the very next day. We were married before noon at the Little Chapel of Flowers. No drama. No chair covers. Just vows and relief. It was a very good day.
My client could have easily spent another hourlong session obsessing over "hot yoga guy" - which she'd done many times before - but I wasn't going to let her. My job as a therapist was to help bring deeper awareness to her emotional experience and to identify what was simmering just beneath the surface, driving compulsive thoughts and behaviors. In this case - limerence.
My sister is struggling with severe mental health issues, and so is her live-in boyfriend of 6 years. She thinks everyone she's ever had contact with was involved in human-trafficking her throughout her childhood. Abby, we grew up safe and privileged on a farm, but my sister had some severe trauma starting in our late teen years. We are now in our mid-40s. She refuses treatment and thinks there is nothing wrong with her.