Lovesickness can kill and should be taken more seriously as a legitimate diagnosis, according to health experts.

Frank Tallis, a clinical psychologist in London, is among those calling for greater awareness of the "illness" in a report in The Psychologist magazine.

He said many are "destabilised by falling in love, or suffer on account of their love being unrequited" and this could lead to a suicide attempt.

Few studies deal with the "specific problem of lovesickness", he said.

Physical exhaustion

Prof Alex Gardner, a clinical psychologist in Glasgow and a member of the British Psychological Society, agreed that doctors needed to be more aware of lovesickness as a possible diagnosis.

He said: "People can die from a broken heart.

"You get into a state of despair and hopelessness."

He said as a result of love, in some people it could lead to an extreme state of physical exhaustion.

In extreme cases lovesickness could drive people to take their own life, he added.

Dr Tallis said that before the 18th Century lovesickness had been accepted as a natural state of mind for thousands of years.

He said in modern day terms the symptoms can include mania, such as an elevated mood and inflated self-esteem, or depression, revealing itself as tearfulness and insomnia.

Aspects of obsessive compulsive disorder can also be found in those experiencing lovesickness, such as preoccupation and obsessively checking for text messages and e-mails.

 

Vocabulary

diagnosis
judgement about what a particular illness is based upon an examination of the person who is suffering

clinical psychologist
specialist who studies the human mind and emotions and behaviour

destabilised
lose control of their actions

on account of
as a result of

unrequited
love is not returned

physical exhaustion
extreme physical tiredness

drive
force

state
condition of way of being that exists at a particular time

symptoms
any feeling of illness or physical or mental changes caused by a particular disease

mania
a state of extreme physical and mental activity, often characterised by a lack of judgement

elevated mood
feelings that are more intense than usual, perhaps too intense

inflated self-esteem
thinking that you are more important than you are

depression
feeling of unhappiness and lack of hope for the future

insomnia
inability to sleep, over a period of time

obsessive compulsive disorder
an illness which causes the user to do something repeatedly for no reason

preoccupation
the main thought in someone's mind making them forget other things