TRAUMA BONDING: WHEN LOVE BECOMES WITHDRAWAL.. Trauma bonding happens when your heart becomes addicted to someone who hurts you. You cling to the connection - not because it's healthy, but because your brain confuses pain with passion. Every apology, every small moment of affection becomes a hit of dopamine - a chemical high your body begins to crave. You start chasing the few moments of warmth, ignoring the cold that follows. Even when it ends, your mind aches for them. You replay the memories, mistake obsession for love, and seek the same chaos in others just to feel alive again. It's not weakness. It's chemistry - a rewiring of love that teaches your brain to confuse danger with safety, withdrawal with longing, and addiction with devotion. You weren't in love with them - you were trapped in the cycle your heart mistook for home.