Love : a noble madness?

• Main Author: Sutton, Eleanor
• Published: University of Edinburgh 2003
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.735382

Throughout literary history, love has been described as a form of madness, which bears a likeness to a manic state in its simultaneous mix of euphoria and dysphoria. The aim of this study is to explore empirically the similarities and differences between the states of love and mania. It is hypothesised that "passionate" love is part of the spectrum of mania in terms of symptomatology, equivalent to hypomania in level of psychological disruption. It is proposed that emotion regulation plays a mediating role in the expression of manic symptoms in either state. Data relating to symptoms reported in mania by 121 adults with bipolar disorder were compared to symptoms reported by a control group relating to recalled episodes of love. A sub-group of 18 individuals with bipolar disorder completed questionnaires relating to episodes of love. Comparisons were made between symptoms of love and mania between and within groups. The profile of manic and depressive symptoms in love and mania were found to share striking similarity and were significantly correlated. Emotion regulation strategies were found to correlate with the degree of severity of symptoms reported. The finding that love and mania share such similar profiles is discussed in terms of implications for diagnosis and classification of spectrum disorders. The mediating role of emotion regulation in the manifestation of psychopathology in love and mania is explored. Attachment theory is proposed as a useful framework for conceptualising the underlying system shared by both states. The role of cognitive appraisal of emotional states in the severity of psychological and functional disruption in love and in mania is discussed and proposed as an appropriate level for clinical intervention.