8 Types of Love | Learn their Impact on Your Relationships

Last Update on June 28, 2024 : Published on March 1, 2021

Anjali Singh

We homo-sapiens are attuned to have a relationship; the core of a happy and healthy relationship is LOVE!

Plus, Life is all about love!

From the moment we are born, and throughout our journey of life, we strive and thrive on having love in our life. Generally, seen in the light of romance, love is more than that or shall we rather say that’s not the only type of love that we humans crave for. Let us try and understand it with the help of some questions on hand:

Do you love your parents?

Do you love your pet?

Do you love your friends?

Do you love your partner?

Most importantly, Do you love yourself?

Assuming that answer to these questions is YES, do you think just one form of love can fill in all the spaces?

The answer is… NO!

This clears one thing that love is more than cupid-style. Each relationship that we are in, be it with our parents or ourselves, requires a different form or combination of love.

So with today’s write-up, we will try to understand the types of love as proposed by Ancient Greeks. But, before that, let us quickly understand what love catalyst is as it is at the heart of these types of love and relationship list!

What Is a Love Catalyst?

A catalyst is a part of you that enhances your experience with a particular form of love. It helps in promoting the feelings of a specific type of love. Example: spiritual catalyst is responsible to connect with divine power. This Catalyst helps us to connect our soul for good and feel more peaceful.

8 Different Types of Love in Relationship and their Meanings:

1. Philia- Affectionate Love

Philia is often referred to as “brotherly love.” It is a strong romantic attraction or love towards your friends. It demonstrates not just love but also the sharing of equality in terms of respect and values. It represents platonic and sincere love. Here, your mind actively engages to check which friends are of the same wavelength as you and can be trusted. Ever used the phrase we just clicked?

Example: You and your friend(s) being each other’s person, each time you face a problem.

One Liner: Love that runs deep in true friendships

Love Catalyst: Mind

Ways to Show Philia Love:

Be supportive of your friend.
Keep open communication
Be there trusting little soul.
Somedays dive into deep conversation

2. Storge- Familiar Love

This type of love is quite similar to philia; it is just directed towards family more. It is the love that parents feel for their children. There is no sexual attraction here; it is all about a bond, care, acceptance, and emotional connection. There is a strong link between memories and this love. The more memories you create, the better the value of your relationship becomes.

Example: The love between you and your parents, siblings, childhood friend, and even your pet.

One Liner: Love of the child (childhood and childhood friends)

Love Catalyst: Causal (memories)

Ways to Show Storge:

Don’t hold grudges; practice forgiveness.
Show gratitude towards the one you care
Give each other quantity and quality of time
Share happy and memorable moments.

3. Pragma- Enduring Love

Probably the most challenging form of love to find! It focuses on both the quantity and quality of love relationships with others. This love is like a fine wine- aged, matured, and developed over time with someone. This everlasting love grows not by merely being head over heels with someone rather by standing through thick and thin. This feeling comes unknowingly (like a subconscious drive) but makes you feel intuitive and purposeful.

Example: Think of your grandparents or parents and see how they grew together.

One Liner: Mature love that has endured for decades

Love Catalyst: Etheric (Subconscious)

Ways to Show Pragma:

Seek and show constant efforts
Work on developing understanding between yourselves
Choose to work with your partner and the love you share (forever)
Don’t think of a replacement, focus on restructuring and repairment instead.

4. Eros- Romantic Love

It is also referred to as Erotic love and is named after the Greek god of love and fertility. It is generally associated with romantic, passionate, and physical forms of love. It gets its spark from the bodily hormones which must be satiated through romantic actions by a partner you admire.

Example: Romantic relationship between you and your partner or young couples that you see in movies/sitcoms

One Liner: Personal infatuation showing passion

Love Catalyst: Physical Body (Hormones)

Ways to Show Eros:

Having a romantic affection
Show love by touching, hugging, and other gestures
Admiring the other person inside out
Be passionate

5. Ludus- Playful Love

While eros is love intensified, Ludus is like a light-hearted and an early stage of it. Playfulness in a relationship keeps it alive, exciting, unusual, plus it adds the element of childlike innocence to it. It is marked with emotions like giddiness, butterflies in the stomach, and teasing. Although more common in young couples, older couples strive for it as well.

Example: A young couple who has recently started to see each other

One Liner: Beginning stages of intimate love

Love Catalyst: Astral (Emotions)

Ways to Show Ludus:

Show interest in the one you admire
Engage in playful activities
Spend nice laughing hours together
Engage in whimsical conversation

6. Mania- Obsessive Love

Obsessive Love is the only form of love that is better to be avoided. This love is not a prerequisite to maintain any relationship; in fact, it is found to harm healthy relationships. The reason why this love is so unwanted is that it leads to possessiveness, jealousy, and codependency among partners. It develops in the first place because there is an imbalance among partners’ love (generally by imbalance between eros and Ludus).

Example: An overly codependent person in a relationship who always has to keep checking on the partner (excessively and intrusively)

One Liner: Possessiveness or madness over a partner

Love Catalyst: Survival Instinct

Ways to Avoid Mania:

Recognize the obsessive pattern
Try to invest more trust in your relationship.
Communicate and act on possessive patterns
Focus on yourself more than the other person

7. Philautia- Self Love

There are two forms of Philautia: healthy and unhealthy. A healthy form of Philautia focuses on loving ourselves, taking care of ourselves, and recognizing our self-worth, before offering it to others. The unhealthy way is selfish with its focus on gaining fame, pleasure, and wealth, taking the form of narcissism though Philautia as self-love is healthy, which indeed should be practiced.

Example: When you work on yourself

One Liner: Empathetic way of loving oneself and others

Love Catalyst: Soul

Ways to Show Philautia:

Express unconditional love in every situation
Engage in actions that are good for human kind
Take some time out for charity
Extend your good deeds to improve the lives of others

8. Agape- Selfless Love

Considered to be the highest level of love to offer is agape. The core of this love is giving without any form of expectations attached to it. It is like passing the baton of kindness to others. Your spirit creates a purpose bigger than yourself. It is the compassionate love that makes us help and connects with people we don’t know. The world needs more of this Agape love.

Example: People working for NGOs, extending their love for others

One Liner: Empathetic way of loving oneself and others

Love Catalyst: Spirit

Ways to Show Agape:

Express unconditional love in every situation
Engage in actions that are good for humankind
Take some time out for charity.
Extend your good deeds to improve the lives of others

Now that you know about all eight types of love and relationships that exist, we have bonus content for you!!!

We are sharing the secret recipe to a healthy relationship with the ingredients we just mentioned (the 8 types of love).

As discussed above each relationship has its requirement of a particular form of love. So, now it is time to see how you can improve your relationship with others by working on specific varients of love.

Now express your love the right way and nurture healthy relationships with your parents, friends, and partners.

Time to spread love like confetti…

Do let us know in the comment section below which love you want to work on or the one that sounds the most fascinating and perfect combo to you.

Keep loving!

Keep blooming!

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About The Author

Anjali Singh

Anjali Singh is a content curator in the field of Mental Health. She is currently done Ph.D. in Psychology. Her aim is to light up the world with positive vibes through her words, her idea of life is ‘Grow through what you go through’. Apart from this, she is a big-time pet lover.