What is Love and Types Of Love

What is love? No one can deny asking this question at some point of their life. Everyone falls in love at least once in their lifetime. But still people rarely find an answer to this question. What is love? People have different perceptions about love. To some it is desire, to others it is trust. Many think of it as a special feeling which people get when they come across their perfect match. But this is not an answer to what is love? Love is a lot more than a mere feeling and you can feel love in various ways.

Do you ever have butterflies in your belly when you look at that guy/ girl in your class? Do you ever feel nervous when you talk to that person you really admire? Such feelings often lead to questions like- is this love? If not, then what is love? Are there various types of love? As per general perception, love is a sensation which you feel when you are emotionally or physically attracted to someone. It is a sense of belongingness to a person. Love is, when you have unconditional faith in someone, when you can trust someone with your life. It is pure love, if you can accept a person in totality, with all his/her flaws. It is a magical chemistry between two persons. Love is a long lasting phenomenon which binds two souls together. If your feelings are short lived, it is mere attraction not love.

This compels you to ask then what the types of love are or which all feelings can be called love? How do you realise you are in love? In the following section, you will find answers to all your dilemmas.

Types of Love

• Lust: It is the most common type of love. Many a time people are physically attracted to another person. But they seldom realise that it is lust. But once you are physically satisfied the feeling of love starts fading. There are little chances of this type of love getting manifested in a long term relationship.
• Romance: In this type of love you want a person to fulfil your emotional needs. It is exactly opposite to lust. There is little room for physical attraction. You want your mate to say romantic things to you. Flowers, candle light dinners, chocolates and love letters are the major components of this type of love!
• Practical Love: You love a person and at the same time you are aware that you both do not have a future together. And you have made peace with this fact and can move on when the time comes. This is an instance of the practical type of love. It is about being aware of the ground realities and adapting accordingly. Rationality is the keyword.
• Obsessive Love: This is the most dangerous type of love. If your partner is extremely possessive about you, always keeps an eye on you and is violent towards you. He/she is obsessed with you. It is advised to get out of this relation at once.
• Casual Love: It is the type of love in which you both like each other but do not want to commit. Such relationships are open ended. Any of the partners can call it off whenever he/she wants and many a time both date other people simultaneously. It is a ‘friends with benefit’ kind of a relationship.
• Friendship Based Love: This type of love is a manifestation of a long-time friendship. Often such people are childhood friends, who eventually fall in love. These kinds of couples have a great chemistry and are one of the happiest lovers. This type of love is often a life time relation, as it is based on understanding.
• Unconditional Love: This is the purest type of love. In this kind of relation people love each other irrespective of race, status etc. They care for each other in all circumstances. Trust is the foundation of such relationship. No force in the world is capable of breaking such a virtuous relationship.