Quitting Love Cold Turkey
- gregorymaness
- Mar 31
- 2 min read
Love is one “addiction” that we are largely expected to quit cold turkey. When your heart is broken, weaning yourself off of love gradually isn’t an option and we seldom consider medical and legitimate pharmaceutical intervention to ease our way through the process. And romantic love indeed has some addictive qualities. I have pointed to this a handful of times on this blog and you have likely experienced the addiction yourself. I have posted a couple of times specifically about the addictive power of love in my posts “Addicted to Love?” (https://www.apirateontheprairie.com/post/addicted-to-love) and “A Little Science for Your Valentine’s Day” (https://www.apirateontheprairie.com/post/a-little-science-for-your-valentine-s-day). And I have posted about love’s addictive hold on me in my post, “‘Better Man, Better Off’ (Tracy Lawrence).”
While quitting addictions cold turkey has always been an option, it is generally accepted today that there is no shame in getting help in quitting something that has an addictive hold on oneself. Thinking about this got me to wondering if we will ever see the day where heartbreak is routinely treated in much the same way that we might treat another addiction. It is kind of interesting to think about a day in the future where a broken heart is routinely treated with counseling and medical care that might include some pharmaceutical treatment to deal with the emotional pain and the loss of a sense of wellbeing. Of course, quitting love cold turkey would remain an option for those that want to tough it out in the old-school way.
Below are a couple of links related to the subject of addiction and the addictive nature of love. The first link is to an article on the history of quitting something cold turkey. The second link is to the iconic song and music video by Robert Palmer, “Addicted to Love.” Enjoy!
“Why do we quit 'cold turkey'?”
“Robert Palmer - Addicted To Love (Official Music Video)”
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