Romantic Love and its Maladies: Medical and Psychological Techniques to Resolve the Addictive Traumas of Love

During the recent war on drugs waged by the Mexican government, the number of patients checked into the hospital wards for victims of violence dramatically increased, and hit men and their accomplice's companions were not exempt from this list. In having been involved in the culture of organized crime, they too were victims of emotional traumas that affected their romantic relationships, ending up in treatment with Dr. Rueda and his colleagues in the Specialized Unit for the Treatment of Addictions. It is from one of these moving stories of "killing for love" that Dr. Rueda's idea for this book was conceived, a work whose inception was influenced by the high numbers of patients addicted to drugs and who exhibited suicidal ideation due to their problems related to depression and romantic situations.

The emergency room was the setting in which the author gathered important research material, where the first diagnosable cases were not only due to depression and suicide risk but also to disorders of love. It was from that perspective that implementing diagnostic criteria to not only administer the proper medication to those patients with depression related to matters of love but to offer an integral treatment program was initiated. In this process, once the patient was treated as having an addiction (e.g., similar to drugs), in utilizing a "medical-psychological focus," rehabilitation was possible.

Other researchers have already dealt with the subject of love as a pathological condition; the author, however, presents a different perspective and focus, which perhaps is controversial, of love as an illness that may be treated by doctors medically and psychologically; his experiences and those of his medical colleagues serving as research data to support this theory, based upon the testimonies of hundreds of hospitalized patients suffering from the "addiction of love." The author has comprehensively addressed the following topics.

Topics of book

Love and illness.
-The biological, psychological, social, and cultural dimensions of love.
-The pathologies of love.
-Clinical cases.
-A detailed description of potential medical rehabilitative solutions.
-Interviews of those sick in love.
-Diagnostic criteria.

Because of their controversial and blunt assessment of love, these themes undoubtedly may grind on the nerves of many social groups, as the author clearly and precisely demystifies Love in many contexts. For example, the author reviews the case studies of those who kill for love, love, and religious life, experiencing love in the LGBT community, and the plight of other groups whose pathological and sexual sense of love has been barely discussed and explored by specialists.

Finally, the author is firmly convinced that he has presented a practical manual based on his clinical experiences, academic and theoretical studies on the research on love, and real-life situations. This work is intended as a self-help guide to help detoxify those addicted to love.