Wong Paul T P, Mayer Claude-Hélène
Department of Psychology, Trent University, Peterborough, Canada.
Department of Industrial Psychology and People Management, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, South Africa.
Int Rev Psychiatry. 2023 Feb;35(1):33-41. doi: 10.1080/09540261.2023.2173001. Epub 2023 Mar 20.
Love is the core of human experience and central to our meaning in life and wellbeing, yet it is also a complex concept full of ambiguity and contradiction. The main purpose of this paper is fourfold: Firstly, we want to clarify questions such as 'What is the meaning of love?' and 'Why is meaning of love so important to us?' Secondly, we want to explain why love is both suffering and essential for our happiness and mental health. Thirdly, we identify the major types of love and clarify which types are constructive and which are destructive. We also identify the key dimensions of true love. Finally, we emphasise that love does not always mean happiness; rather, it is meant to be a school to teach us important lessons and to make us complete. Therefore, we need to embrace suffering and at the same time cultivate the constructive types of love to improve our mental health and to make the world a more compassionate place.
爱是人类体验的核心，对我们生命的意义和幸福至关重要，但它也是一个充满歧义与矛盾的复杂概念。本文的主要目的有四个方面：首先，我们想要厘清诸如“爱的意义是什么？”以及“爱的意义为何对我们如此重要？”等问题。其次，我们想要解释为何爱既是痛苦的，又是我们幸福与心理健康所必不可少的。第三，我们识别出爱的主要类型，并厘清哪些类型是建设性的，哪些是破坏性的。我们还确定了真爱的关键维度。最后，我们强调爱并不总是意味着幸福；相反，它应是一所教会我们重要道理并使我们变得完整的学校。因此，我们需要接纳痛苦，同时培养建设性的爱的类型，以改善我们的心理健康，并使世界成为一个更具同情心的地方。
