Romantic love I experienced three times and two ended badly. Then there is the love of your children ,the love of your pets ,the love of friends and relatives.If you have not experienced at least one of these you are very unfortunate . But if you don’t love your self (Not in a narcissistic way) I mean in a self respect way this can lead to negative consequences . I always think if you never loved a person and you were never able to love a dog ,cat or other creature then there is definitely something wrong psychologically .

In the immortal words of Nazareth:
Love hurts

Wow, everyone seems smarter than I in this. It's like biological warfare.

When in love, I’m both at peace with the universe and my body. That said, the person that brought me that peace can upset me like no other.

‘Bait’

I found
a love nest
nestled deep
in my mind
And then
the bird flew
away, leaving
unhatched eggs
in an uncovered
bowl of straw

[gandholi.wordpress.com]
..

It happened once, so I know it exists. But she died, and now I'm an emotional shell.

The chemical reaction your brain feels when stimulated through the 5 senses for prolonged periods of time can be construed as love. However every chemical has a half life. Some people just know how to remix the chemicals for multitudes of time.

Love is a many faceted idea with different meanings to each of us. Oh, we may share some portions of our idea of love with others, but I don't think you'll find a consensus.

That being said, remember that we are biological organisms and the biggest difference between human beings and most of the other biological entities on this planet is that we have reached a point where our brains are capable of carrying on abstract thought processes -- we call that mind and mind is who we are.

Mind is affected by everything that happens in our bodies, by external experiences, by our environment, and much more. We are social animals and that means we have a built in capacity to empathize with others, to form bonds with others. The key word is 'animal'. This thing we call love is generated by chemicals/hormones, our natural desire to be with others of our species, those hardwired tendencies that we call instincts.

What does it all mean? Well, if one bases their entire understanding of love on how it feels when those hormones are rushing along, being pushed by the instinct to procreate -- to preserve the species -- then it is a coin toss whether a lasting relationship will come of it. I think, and this is entirely personal, that to form a lasting relationship there needs to be a bond (friendship) associated with it from the beginning. Just my two cents.

There is more to love than a chemical and biological reaction, that just describes lust. There is the shared intellectual, emotional, as well as the physical which in time may lose some of the intense excitement but gains in depth and contentment.

Love changes. As a young person it is a combination of physical and sexual attraction, a deep appreciation of the other, a desire to share time and space with the other. As one ages, and if the relationship is real, it shift toward simply appreciating the presence of the other, an appreciation of how the other completes one's own life, of simply being glad to share he same life space and be there for each other. It is not as passionate, but just as deep and real.

Yes!

I think it is scientifically reasonable to take a reductionist approach to describing love in terms of brain chemistry, etc. Nevertheless, I find it more meaningful and satisfying to embrace the sense of wonder and beauty that experiences or even thoughts of love elicit in me.

The experience of love is most powerful for me when it involves shared empathy with another person that I trust.

I think what we perceive as love is a chemical reaction masquerading as happiness that tricks us into breeding.

Hell yes! I love, love and wouldn't want to live without it.

Love is indeed a chemical and biological reaction. Just like everything else which makes us as organic life forms tick.

That being said, the chemical and biological processes are merely background activity. It's the end result which is important

Well, as Queensryche said.....