When love blends with hate, this is a case of ambivalence. In functional relationships, the ambivalence tends to be short-lived. The love trumps the hate. But ambivalence lasts longer whenever two emotions or desires genuinely compete. This is a common scenario: You are sad because your sick puppy died, but happy that he didn’t have to suffer anymore. You are surprised when your sister is late (yet again), but you had kind of expected it. You are attracted to and feeling repulsed by the person you just started seeing. You are in love with two people, but now it’s time to choose who to be in a relationship with. Or you hate your spouse as much as you love him and have some difficult decisions to make.
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Psychology Today
Ambivalence
When love blends with hate, this is a case of ambivalence. In functional relationships, the ambivalence tends to be short-lived. The love trumps the hate. But ambivalence lasts longer whenever two emotions or desires genuinely compete. This is a common scenario: You are sad because your sick puppy died, but happy that he didn’t have to suffer anymore. You are surprised when your sister is late (yet again), but you had kind of expected it. You are attracted to and feeling repulsed by the person you just started seeing. You are in love with two people, but now it’s time to choose who to be in a relationship with. Or you hate your spouse as much as you love him and have some difficult decisions to make.