People understand love in different ways, highlighting significant moments for themselves. For some, this is a combination of interest, passion and tenderness. For others, attachment comes to the fore. Consider how long love lasts, after what period of time it develops into a habit, and also find out when this feeling arises.
What is love
The most exciting feeling that can change a person’s life is love, the phenomenon of which has been comprehensively studied in psychological science.
The distinctive features of the state of love are as follows:
- The idealization of his chosen one, endowing him with only positive qualities and the complete neglect of negative traits.
- The state of euphoria, high spirits.
Certain changes occur inside a person: the blood levels of adrenaline and dopamine will increase, it is due to the latter that concentration on the subject of adoration takes place.
When love passes, all previously unnoticed negative aspects of the chosen one become apparent, sometimes causing amazement. This sublime state does not always turn into love, it often causes disappointment, leading to the separation of the couple.
We learn how long love and love last, according to modern researchers. Most often, a person feels an elevated state from a few weeks to a year and a half. Then it either turns into genuine feelings, or ends with disappointment in a partner and separation.
Psychologists also found out how long love lasts at first sight. Most often, in its chronometric frames, it coincides with love.
The beginning of love
Before considering the question of how long love lasts, we find out by what signs it can be determined that it began. First of all, this is the end of love. The negative aspects of the chosen one are already obvious, some of his or her habits begin to annoy, passion is no longer so bright and all-consuming, but warm feelings, tenderness, affection come to the fore. Partners continue to have deep respect and affection for each other.
Theories of Duration
The answer to the question of how long first love lasts is not unambiguous among various representatives of the scientific world. So, scientists adhere to three main hypotheses:
- Three years.
- Seven years.
- Twelve.
- Twenty five.
It is also proved that some people belong to the category of Monogamous, but this phenomenon is not among the common ones.
At the same time, studies confirm that the term itself, which is able to live a wonderful feeling, depends on the specific circumstances and hobbies of partners. So, British scientists have found that the most durable and durable alliance among supporters of one political party.
Three years
Understanding feeling as a chemical process, one can establish how long love lasts - three years. But this time is the maximum, in some cases the feeling can pass in a few months or even weeks. At this time, lovers begin to actively make plans for a joint life, expect only positive manifestations from her. Statistics are harsh - after three years, couples break up most often or experience a severe crisis in relationships.
At the same time, fading does not always lead to separation, some couples are forced to live together because of a child or a common living space. If partners feel comfortable together, their relationship will continue to be harmonious and happy.
Seven years
Some researchers note that partners are beginning to experience a sharp disappointment in each other after seven years of relationship. Most often, children appear, common property, shared housing, routine and everyday life absorb in themselves all the time, not giving partners the opportunity to delight each other.
But much depends on the man and woman themselves, if desired, each of them is able to add variety to any routine, improve the mood of his chosen one and get rid of many problems. But not everyone is ready for such self-sacrifice, preferring to wait for something like that for themselves.
During this period, to save the relationship, you need to find the strength to overcome fatigue and show imagination, pamper your partner, and allow feelings to go beyond everyday life.
Twelve years old
The answer to the question of how long love lasts can be given another - 12 years, this is another crisis of feelings, which can entail a wave of mutual insults, misunderstanding and disappointment. The partners are so accustomed to each other that they stop finding something interesting in their chosen one, he / she seems to be a usual ordinary person who managed to get bored. For some, even quite respectable family people, the question begins to ripen - do they have feelings themselves, maybe they have long faded away, giving way to habit?
For many couples, a relationship crisis is accompanied by a midlife crisis, leading to depression. It is important for partners to support each other if they want to maintain warm feelings.
Twenty five years
This is one of the rarest cases of the “collapse” of love, when adults realize that they live together more out of habit than for something more. It was during this period that the matured children left the parental home, and the parents began to realize that, apart from caring for the offspring, nothing united them. Quarrels and scandals, the accusation of each other in “ruined youth” and unfulfilled dreams, become inevitable.
Stages
Studying how long love lasts, the researchers divided this feeling into stages, the duration of each of them is presented in the table.
Stages of loveTitle | Short description | Duration |
Passion | The chosen one takes all thoughts, only positive aspects are seen in his image, a huge amount of hormones are produced in the blood, he is very physically attracted to this person. Sometimes at this stage the negative traits of the partner are noticeable, but in the mind of a person in love they are transformed into the most attractive | From a few days to 2-3 weeks |
Rating | Passion is replaced by an assessment stage, an analysis of the personality characteristics of the partner. A decision is made whether relations with him will be long and harmonious. The chosen one begins to be perceived as property, there is a desire to constantly be with him | From six months to 1.5 years. Some couples can last up to 3 years |
Mutual adaptation | The partners, realizing the value of each other, are trying to adapt to the chosen one, to compromise in order to maintain relations | 1-2 years |
Deep feeling | Partners are close to each other in spirit, they have common goals | Individually, depends on the specific pair. |
According to this concept, the duration of a love feeling can be different:
- As a chemical reaction that occurs in the human body - no more than 3 years.
- True affection, trusting tender relationships, the desire to constantly be together - depends on the partners.
Therefore, the answer to the question of how long love lasts for a man and a woman cannot be unequivocal. It all depends on what exactly to include in this feeling.
The specificity of relations at a distance
Consider how much love a woman and a man last if the partners are separated by distance, because the usual phases in such unusual relationships cannot be distinguished. Passion due to rare encounters can flare up with renewed vigor after every telephone conversation. The stage of falling in love can last for several years, since the negative aspects of the chosen one do not yet become obvious, his personality is still idealized.
Such a couple is least affected by the usual “destroyers” of passion — everyday moments, because partners don’t need to grind, find compromises, and jointly solve routine issues. Each meeting for them is an adrenaline rush and genuine pleasure, therefore the duration of love itself increases to 5-6 years. However, not everyone is able to maintain relationships at a distance, preferring constant communication with a partner, his proximity. Another disadvantage of such a life is that if a couple finally overcomes the distance and moves on to a life together, each other’s shortcomings will become obvious and unexpected in a flash, so there is a great risk of a break.
However, if the separation is long, then the love feeling most often disappears after 1-2 years. Researchers have revealed another sad fact - mutual feelings cool faster, unrequited love, turning into a mania, can haunt a person all his life.
Men and women
We find out how long a man’s love for a woman lasts and vice versa. As modern psychological studies show, the stronger sex cools faster, in their body the chemical reaction that causes euphoria becomes less noticeable after 1.5-2 years, but in women it is slightly more - about 3 years. Then the feeling is replaced by attachment, habit. If the partners are linked by common interests, they are comfortable with each other, then the relationship will move to a new stage, but if nothing but passion unites them, a break is inevitable.
It is interesting that the most amazing feeling, love, was thoroughly studied by psychologists who revealed curious facts that allow representatives of different sexes to better understand each other and build harmonious and strong relationships.