Browsing PubMed for systematic reviews on love addiction this morning (as you do) I came across this study by researchers in California.

It suggests that half of the US population suffer from some kind of addiction during any given 12 month period and that addictions are often due to lifestyle factors.

Readers concerned about the broadening definition of addiction in DSM-5 will find this article uneasy reading.  It certainly doesn’t do much to tackle the ever-increasing medicalisation of people with mental health issues.

I’m paraphrasing Robert Palmer here, but I can’t feature the terrifically misogynistic video, so the chorus will just have to do instead:

Whoa, you like to think that you’re immune to the stuff, oh yeah
It’s closer to the truth to say you can’t get enough
You know you’re gonna have to face it, you’re addicted to (just about everything)

I’m hoping that this is not the cheeriest valentine message you receive today.

Sussman S, Lisha N, Griffiths M. Prevalence of the addictions: a problem of the majority or the minority? Eval Health Prof. 2011 Mar;34(1):3-56.