At first glance, it may seem that a strong need for love and approval of other people is such a complex mixture of neurotic states. To some extent, this is true, but only in the case when the need for love begins to “go off scale” - after all, on the one hand, you need to be able to live with your own mind, your interests, needs and goals, and in general, ideally, you need to be able to be happy and alone. On the other hand, one cannot simply, out of principle, without justification, ignore the needs of society and the opinions of others - it is meaningless, ineffective and often simply harmful. On the one hand, as the classic said, “the biggest prison in which people live is fear of what others will think." And that's true. On the other hand, constant denial of other people's opinions turns a person into an egocentric and selfish person. And only from the outside it may seem that it is easier for an egocentric person to become happy - egocentrism, as a defensive reaction, is a rather energy-intensive process, and the state of happiness, on the contrary, is a very calm and stable process. The need for love can be a manifestation of neurosis, or a manifestation of the neurotic component of the personality, or it can manifest itself as a basic need of any normal person - the question, as always, is only in the extent and degree of manifestation of such a need, or rather in the correct balance of satisfying personal needs (read - reasonable egoism) and involvement in social interaction. But let's try to answer a few simple questions: Can we exist without communication, without interacting with other people? It is obvious that an ordinary person, not specially prepared for this, cannot do for a long time without communication, without interaction with others, even in minimal doses. Introverts, don't argue. Even you need communication. Does other people’s opinions about ourselves affect our mood, our self-esteem, our decisions, in the end? Obviously, it affects us even if we have a high level of self-sufficiency and self-confidence. Should we add to the list of things necessary for a fulfilling life, for happiness, for overcoming life's difficulties, the presence in our environment of people with whom we have mutual understanding, mutual respect, mutual value and mutual interests? Do we need to know the opinions of people significant to us, including opinions about ourselves and our actions? Obviously, yes - we need such a close and specific circle of communication. The whole point is that we can identify ourselves in this world only through other people, correlating our internal image of the reality around us, our picture of the world and ourselves in this picture (except which, in fact, nothing else exists for us personally), with the opinions of others in order to confidently confirm it, this picture, consistency and adequacy. We need mirrors to see ourselves well, and the best mirrors are other people. Can we be happy if we do not have inner confidence in our attractiveness as a person? Obviously, no, and it is obvious that at least one person must confirm this attractiveness of ours, otherwise there can be no talk of any certainty in this matter. So, do we need the love of the people around us, albeit a very narrow circle of them??