Woman diagnosed with ‘love brain’ after calling boyfriend 100 times in a day
By Bryan Ke
A Chinese doctor recently shared a case about a patient she diagnosed with “love brain,” who became heavily dependent on her boyfriend and even called him 100 times in one day
Key points:
- Du Na, the deputy director of the Psychosomatic Medicine Center at The Fourth People’s Hospital of Chengdu, shared the case with Red Star News on April 2.
- According to the doctor, the condition “love brain” is common among people diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. Du noted that the condition may also be present along with other mental illnesses, such as anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder.
- Although there are no search results for “love brain” on the Western internet, the condition appears to share the same description as “love addiction,” wherein a person develops obsessive fixations towards their partner. These fixations may involve frequent calling and overdependence.
The details:
- Recalling a case from several years ago, Du described the 18-year-old college freshman patient, referred to by the pseudonym Xiaoyu, as excessively dependent on her new boyfriend. Initially sweet, the relationship later made the man feel suffocated.
- Du mentioned that the woman required her boyfriend to constantly update her about his whereabouts, promptly respond to her messages and be with her all the time. According to the doctor, “Texts must be replied to ‘in seconds,’ and if he doesn’t answer the phone, she would call him frantically.”
- At one point, Xiaoyu called her boyfriend while he was at work, but he didn’t answer. This led her to call him 100 times that day. In another interview with Yueniu News, Du mentioned that Xiaoyu would even make WeChat video calls to her boyfriend if he didn’t respond to her messages.
- Xiaoyu would often have emotional outbursts when her boyfriend didn’t answer her calls, fearing he no longer loved her or would abandon her. This led to her throwing objects in her home and breaking them. On one occasion, police were called to intervene. When they arrived, they found her standing on the balcony, contemplating jumping off.
The aftermath:
- Xiaoyu was taken to the hospital, where she received her diagnosis and treatment. Du mentioned that after three years of treatment, Xiaoyu became more stable, which is the typical duration for those with severe cases of the condition.
- Du stated that patients with mild conditions could recover through self-management of emotions. However, she noted that more severe cases would require medical assistance.
- “In the most severe cases, they may cause harm to themselves or even threaten their own lives,” Du said.
How people reacted:
- The story ignited some discussions on Chinese social media, with one Douyin user asking, “The question is, do boys really like clingy girls?” prompting another to reply, “In the beginning of a relationship, they all like it, but after the novelty wears off, they don’t like it anymore.”
- “Hopefully, this girl will encounter a good counselor who can help her recover,” a Weibo user commented.
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