Dr. Carl Pickhardt said that no more than 15 percent of teenage love stories that he’s known were truly love. Teenagers hardly fall in love; they fall into a depth of caring and yearning for caring, a more complex and compelling feelings than anything that they have felt before.
As the feeling approaches, it involves more tensions and uncertainties than adults can imagine. Here’s a good summary of what these youngsters are dealing with:
- It’s mind consuming: each always exists on the other’s mind at every moment and in every action taken.
- It’s a merged relationship: each feels part of the other, and they don’t quite feel whole when they are away from each other.
- It’s highly sensitized: both are alert to every tiny interpersonal signals and are easily to be hurt.
- There’s a desperate attachment: both experience the joy of being together, coupling with the fear of losing each other.
Not yet to mention, most teenage in-love relationships don’t survive. The break-ups often come with a high price for both girls and boys – feeling helpless, rejected, and abandoned as well as losing their self-esteem and trust in others. Without support and guidance from experienced adults, they might not have a chance to learn about love and more mature behaviors for their long-term relationships later on.
