Infatuation vs Love

Infatuation vs Love

Love and Infatuation are both intense emotions that one feels for another person. These feelings are most often confused for each other by many people. But the two feelings differ in their actuality of love, intensity and final outcome.

Infatuation is the state of being completely carried away by unreasoning passion or love; addictive love. Infatuation usually occurs at the beginning of relationship when sexual attraction is central. Love can be described as feeling of intense affection for another person. It is most often talked about as an emotion between two persons. Hence is also sometimes referred to as interpersonal love.

Comparison chart

	Infatuation	Love
Definition:	Infatuation is the state of being completely lost in the emotion of unreasoning desire.	A decision to commit oneself to another and to work through conflicts instead of giving up.
Associated with:	Selfish uncontrollable desire.	Physical chemistry over a fairly long period of time.
Sub-Categories:	Short lived physical desire, crush, lust, hormonal activity, or addictivechemical reactions in the brain. Not revived with the same person without a deeper feeling.	Intimacy, commitment, security, the desire to please and help the other person.
Symptoms:	Urgency, intensity, sexual desire,anxiety, high risk choices, reckless abandonment of what was once valued.	Faithfulness, loyalty, confidence. Willingness to make sacrifices for another. Working at settling differences. Able to compromise so that either both win or at least give the other person's opinion a chance.
Person to Person:	Reckless commitment to satisfy one's all consuming lust.	Commitment to another. Genuine intentions. Think about other person's feelings before acting.
Feels like:	All-consuming euphoria similar to recreational drug use (addictivechemical reactions in the brain), stupidity (cupidity). Can risk everything for the next hit of adrenalin.	A deep affection, contentment, confidence. Partners communicate and negotiate appropriate expectations. Requires a lot of selflessness and polite assertiveness. You are loving your best friend.
Result:	Emptiness, consequences of choices made while under the influence of mind numbing temporary lust.	Security, peace, a solid partnership which can provide the ideal atmosphere to raise confident secure children.
Effect:	Being controlled by brain chemistry, not the heart, loss of ability to make rational evaluations of what is true, valuable and worthy.	Contentment, stability.
Interdependency:	Cannot be sustained without some portion of love and physical attraction. Desire to be always close to that person at any cost.	Partnership. Can lead to codependency if not tempered with self-awareness and self-guidedness.
Time Period:	Takes off fast and furious like a spark in dry grass burns out quickly and can leave feelings of emptiness.	It will deepen with the passsage of time.
Commitment:	This is temporary in life and goes off after some period.	This is permanent commitment and stays throughout the life.
Bottom Line:	Infatuation is delusional. Not real.	Love is unconditional and the real deal.
Patience:	Infatuation is of the now.	Love is a gradual process. It happens over time.

Differences in Dictionary Meaning

As a noun, Love is described as:

a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.

a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend.

sexual passion or desire.

a person toward whom love is felt; beloved person; sweetheart.

used in direct address as a term of endearment, affection, or the like: Would you like to see a movie, love?

As a noun, infatuation is described as:

a foolish and usually extravagant passion or love or admiration.

temporary love of an adolescent.

an object of extravagant short-lived passion.

Symptoms of love vs infatuation

The foremost symptom of being infatuated by a person is wanting to be around that person. This may sometimes also be sexual desire. Other symptoms may be anxiety, panic, jealousy etc. Love, on the other hand, may start with infatuation or lust and then become love. Symptoms of love are emotional attachment with someone, feelings of confidence, and affection.

Differences in Attributes

Love can happen without conscious intention and hence pure love doesn't expect anything in return. Infatuation, though, comes with a feeling of passion. It may start with physical attraction and may render excitement to be around a person. Love comes with passion as well as intimacy. Love is also tolerant and forgiving while Infatuation may invoke jealousy. Infatuation induces impatience while Love is patient.

Reasons people fall in love or be infatuated

There may or may not be any reason to fall in love. It comes with mixed emotions and may be caused by physical attraction, intellectual and emotional compatibility. Infatuation, on the other hand, may start with physical attraction and gives a feeling of being in love.

Differences in Feelings

Infatuation feels like being in love but it is not. The intensity of the emotion is strong but not pure like love.

Love is the quiet understanding and mature acceptance of imperfection. Love is always associated with connection between two souls that goes beyond the self. Infatuation may make the other person selfish if the opposite person's reaction isn't the same. Infatuation isn't pure like love and may be accompanied by lust. It is about thinking about oneself and not the other person.

Differences in effects of separation

Infatuation is weakened by time and separation whereas real love is strengthened by time and separation. Separation in both emotions causes great pain but infatuation may get weak and cause the feeling to lessen over time. Love develops more with time and separation.

Commitment in love vs infatuation

While true and pure love between two people can often develop into long term commitment, infatuation may only in very few cases lead to any commitment. True love induces a feeling of close bond towards the other person that is mutual. While infatuation may produce feelings of closeness, because they are typically one sided real, lasting commitment by both parties isn't possible.

Age as a factor

Infatuation is generally in the context of teenage or adolescence. There is generally no age associated with love. Anyone can be in love at any age, but most love stories before the age of 20 is considered infatuation or "puppy love".