Please don’t misinterpret here. I’m not saying you can’t breathe when your beloved isn’t around. I’m saying that the world seems a bit brighter and you feel a bit better about yourself. When you feel this way, you’re also past the infatuation stage, which is the stage where you actually do have time breathing when the other person is around (those hormones are murder on lungs) and you have gotten past the limmerance, the phase where you’re addicted to love or you love the idea of being in love. You’ve settled into a wonderful but manageable phase where you work hard to please but not at the expense of yourself or your beliefs. You’re content and happy and energized and sleeping well and eating okey – hey, it must be love.

If you can’t breath when your beloved isn’t around and feel like you’re going to die, you’re talking serious dependency. If you feel that way, check yourself into the respiratory therapy unit of your local hospital or a twelve-step program with a local therapist.