Three Myths About Romantic Love

These myths about romantic love are some of humanity’s biggest lies. They come from people’s tendency to idealize the “perfect couple”.

We idealize each other. Love is then an easy way to cover each other’s shortcomings. Love is everywhere. Even cartoons teach children that perfect love is the price of overcoming adversity.

The main problem with romantic love is that it turns the men into the main character and women into a prize. Maybe you don’t realize it. However, this always happens in movies, television series and on other media.

Myths about romantic love

The following myths about romantic love have a negative impact on your relationships. After all, they can cause you to create unrealistic and harmful expectations about the person you are with.

1. Soulmates, a myth about romantic love

When you watch your first Disney movie, you start to believe that there is one person just for you. These movies (and society in general) make you believe that you are meant for this person. They also make you believe that the two of you will instantly fall in love when you see each other.

Plus, they make you believe that your relationship will be perfect. You will match in a perfect way and this person will fit your plans completely. Society also makes you believe that love must be reliable and exclusive. It also doesn’t matter if you’ve been in a relationship before or not.

However, isn’t experiencing a relationship a good thing? Studies say yes. Having different relationships often helps you determine what you want and what you don’t want.

It also provides you with hints that can help you discover what you are willing to give. This doesn’t mean you have to have a lot of partners. It means that it is not essential that you have only one partner.

2. The omnipotence of love

Most stories, movies and other media allude to the omnipotence of love. They make people believe that love can overcome any obstacle and that it makes you infinitely strong and resilient. The problem is that so many people endure relationships that trample on their dignity. That’s because they believe this idea.

Love cannot do everything. In fact, it is nothing more than a social construct that you can reject if it doesn’t fit your personal or professional life. Not everyone is ready to have a long-term relationship. Also, not everyone is ready or willing to have just one type of relationship.

There are couples who live together. Others are perfectly happy with their space. So they live in different houses. Some couples decide to overcome an obstacle together.

Others decide to break up. All these possibilities are equally commendable. Most important of all, both partners are equally happy.

3. Opposites attract

We often tell children that if a classmate bothers them, it’s because they like it. This is a dangerous myth. It also goes hand in hand with the romantic love myth which claims that opposites attract.

This myth can affect relationships in two different ways. The first effect is directly related to the omnipotence of love and the idea of ​​soul mates. In this situation, both partners accept their differences. After all, they think that their love will overcome all their obstacles.

The truth is that couples with very different beliefs will constantly argue over time. Discussion is a very important aspect of a relationship. However, ongoing conflicts can affect unity and compatibility.

The second effect is very popular in literature, in movies and on television. This is about the idea that love can change a person. You know the story: someone (usually a woman) finds a partner who is actually bad for her.

Instead of looking for someone more like her, she does everything in her power to make the other person change. Her goal is to make sure she can have a relationship with him.

The truth is that people don’t just change. People tend to make that mistake often. They then love a person they think their partner will become in the future rather than the partner they are with today. After all, that is the person with whom they have a relationship.

A lasting relationship

Compatibility, tolerance, respect and a healthy attraction are important. Those things can lead to a strong and lasting relationship (if that’s what you’re looking for). In the long run, attempts to mimic relationships of others will cause you to have unrealistic expectations. This only leads to frustration.