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More people look for salvation through relationship than in houses of worship.

One may even suggest that romantic love has replaced institutional religion as the greatest

motive power and influence in our lives.

The search for love has replaced the search for God.

Half of all first marriages end in divorce, as do two-thirds of second marriages and nearly three-quarters of third marriages.

Most non-marital relationships also end in separation.

Of the relationships that do last, many are unhealthy and unhappy. Most relationships, in other words, fail.

In some cases, it is infidelity, abuse, or a clash in personality, beliefs, values, or life plans

that causes a relationship to fail. Many times, however, it is the result of one or both partners burdening

the relationship with the fantasy that it will cure all their personal problems. This belief

that a romantic relationship will unlock a life of happiness and fulfilment, the psychiatrist

M. Scott Peck called the myth of romantic love.

And in this video, we explain how belief in this myth destroys one's capacity to cultivate

the healthy and realistic love that sustains fulfilling relationships.

For his M. Scott Peck writes, The myth of romantic love tells us that when we meet the person for whom we are intended,

we will be able to satisfy all of each other's needs forever and ever,

and therefore live happily forever after in perfect union and harmony.

While I generally find that great myths are great, precisely because they represent and embody

great universal truths, the myth of romantic love is a dreadful lie. As a psychiatrist,

...