conditional love
Love with strings
Conditional love is affection or care that depends on the recipient meeting certain expectations or standards.
Unlike unconditional love, which persists regardless of behavior, conditional love can be withdrawn when conditions aren't met: His father's love always felt conditional on his achievements.
The term usually carries negative connotations, implying that such love is lesser or psychologically damaging, though some argue all love involves some conditions.
- attachmentConnection or fondness
- stringsThin flexible lines
- expectationsBeliefs about future outcomes
- moving goalpostsAltering criteria during evaluation
- approvalFavorable opinion given
performance · prove yourself · earned · withdrawn · rejection · behavior · transactional · manipulation · worthiness · judgment · criticism · control · insecurity · abandonment · not good enough · disappointment · terms · walking on eggshells
- parentinggentle parenting, child, mom, children, kids
- toxic familydysfunction, broken home, family secret, scapegoat, golden child
- emotional neglectneglect, emotional neglect, emotional unavailability, emotional deprivation, emotional distance
conditional loveunconditional love
Affection given freely, always
unconditional acceptance · agape · selfless love · radical acceptance · pure love
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