Does 'Love' have to be reciprocated in order for it to be real?

I fell in love with someone last year after knowing them for a few months


It wasn't reciprocated and we went our separate ways.


The overwhelming feedback I have had from friends, family, online correspondents and even a therapist I hired (and still see because of this issue) is that if the Love wasn't reciprocated that it isn't really 'Love'


This seems absurd to me.


That one can only be deemed healthy if the Love is reciprocated and if it isn't one should:


"Let it go"


"Move on"


"Find someone else"


"Get a hobby"


"They aren't worth it"


"Get over it"





It's odd that one is seen as 'dysfunctional' if one continues to love someone who doesn't love them back





This makes 'Love' seem very expendable - like it's a shirt you buy and it doesn't fit so you can discard it.





Anyway I am going to have this out with my therapist this week because I like to look at things from all angles.





If you continue to love someone who has gone one is accused of being obsessed ... the Love should

Does 'Love' have to be reciprocated in order for it to be real?
You can love someone who doesn't love you back, but there is more than one person in the world you can love. And there are ways to dwell on love, to keep it going, and sometimes even become an obsession, and there are ways to stop loving someone in the way most people mean when they say "love" (although you might always have strong feelings towards them) and move on. Despite what Hollywood likes to say, whilst we can seldom force ourselves to fall in love, we can help ourselves fall out again (doesn't make such a good movie, though)
Reply:I still very much love my departed one. I do not recieve love in return. Love is forever. As long as there is thought in my brain I will love.
Reply:No. I don't feel that love is not real if it is not reciprocated. I am not religious but the Bible says to love your enemies. I still love all the people I fell in love with in my life. Just because a relationship with them was not possible does not mean that I stopped loving them.





The reasons we love someone may not be only based on having a good relationship with them. Some studies have found that we fall in love with people because of their smell. With women it found that if a man had the same smell as their father they were more likely to fall in love with the man ,and that would not necessitate compatibility.





I think this world would be a lot better off if people gave freely of their love without expecting love in return. Love can help and heal so many. It shouldn't be something traded and it should not be diminished even if it is only one way.