Love Lies On the Border | Giana Hesterberg | TEDxBrownsville

What do you call it when you fall completely for someone, and there was never an affair to confess?

Giana thought she’d have to come clean about infidelity. What she actually had to explain to her husband was harder to name: an involuntary, one-sided romantic obsession psychologists call limerence. She walks through what it did to her body and mind, the withdrawal, the attachment wound underneath it, and the years of work it took to get free of it, and arrives at an answer that has less to do with the other person than she expected. Giana Gallardo Hesterberg was born and raised in Brownsville, Texas. She studied at Central College in Pella, Iowa, and received a bachelor's degree in elementary education. She graduated with a master's degree in clinical mental health counseling from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in May of 2025. During her graduate school career, she heavily researched limerence and has presented her findings at counseling conferences. Hesterberg is a child counselor and a licensed professional counselor associate. There are few things she loves more than public speaking. Her hobbies also include Olympic-style weightlifting, writing, playing the piano, and chasing her next great adventure. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx