When a crush turns into a harmful obsession, you might experience limerence, romantic infatuation characterized by extreme emotional highs and lows, intrusive thoughts and idealization. In this episode, we talk to neuroscientist Tom Bellamy, author of the book Smitten, about how limerence works in the brain, what you can do to stop it, and how to replace limerence with healthier interests. This episode was originally published Sept. 16, 2025. Follow us on Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nprlifekit/?hl=en"target="_blank" >@nprlifekit</a><a href="https://www.npr.org/newsletter/life-kit"target="_blank" >Sign up for our newsletter here.</a>Have an episode idea or feedback you want to share? Email us at <a href="mailto:lifekit@npr.org"target="_blank" >lifekit@npr.org</a>Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening and convenient playlists of popular help topics like personal finance, getting healthy, and more. Learn more at <a href="http://plus.npr.org/"target="_blank" >plus.npr.org</a>. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>

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