Love can be one of the most positive of emotions. Particularly a person who has just fallen in love will be extremely happy. Similarly falling out of love can be most painful, particularly if it was not your decision to end the relationship.
We all need someone to be close to, to confide in, to touch, to hug and share things with. While we may normally think of this as a male/female pair it of course can equally be two or more females who are extremely close. It is all about being able to share experiences, each others joy, and share confidences.
As far as couples go, research has shown that the more time they spend together, and the level of companionship determines the amount of harmony and happiness within the relationship.
While many may think of sex as a part of love, this is not necessarily so, for when a person cannot participate, or does not wish to and their partner is permitted to seek sex elsewhere they can still stay as much in love as before. Sex is therefore often an expression of love or something that happens from a convenience point between two partners.
Not having someone who loves you, may make you feel isolated, depressed, and extremely unhappy, but its not necessarily their presence that you crave for as you can stay in love and happy with a person who is separated from you for considerable time periods as with military personnel, people at college, or where one partner is held in prison.
Love is preferable, but if not available a very close friendship can ease the unhappiness.
