I'd not heard of limerence before either; it's a very interesting idea (though I appreciate that for those in the grip of it, it certainly won't feel like that). That said, I'm a bit sceptical about giving feelings and emotions like this a clinical name because it tends to suggest that the "victim" is in some way helpless in the face of the condition.
Speaking as a man (and reading the experiences on this thread that have been shared) I feel very sad that the women in the grip of the infatuation don't seem to be able to move on with their lives. It's almost like the infatuation is, in a strange sense, a "safe" place to be. Muntermonster admitted above that in a sense she is flattered that this guy - who she also describes as sleazy and unattractive - can't leave her alone.
Which makes me think that at the core of the issue is self-esteem. Lots of people have infatuations and crushes (I did when I was younger). The thing I find hard to understand is how the person can rationalise that the person they are infatuated with is unattractive, sleazy, not right for them etc. but still be in the grip of the infatuation. Doesn't the infatuation in the "normal" person disappear at the point the reality of the person's inappropriateness/unattractiveness become known and capable of being rationalised?
There's also what seems to me to be a really tragic consequence of this as well. Again, speaking as a man, a certain amount of vulnerability in a woman can be attractive. It can bring out the nurturing and protective instinct in men that society conditions us to conceal or only display in very "macho" ways. But a woman who appears very vulnerable and lacking self-esteem is, I think, for most well-adjusted and decent men not an attractive trait. I can't really explain that. Maybe it has something to do with men choosing a potential mother for their children and valuing a certain strength and resolve in the potential mother. That might be evolutionary nonsense. But there is a sense in which I think lots of men feel that. So the tragedy is that a woman who has such low self-esteem is not as likely to be attractive to well-adjusted and decent men. The opposite, in fact. She's likely to be attractive to men who are not well-adjusted and who have very poor attitudes towards women. So it's a horrible vicious cycle. I'm sure this works the other way around, incidentally, it just probably plays itself out differently given our society is patriarchal and favours men and their feelings, wants and desires.
Reading that back I don't mean at all to criticise the women who have shared their experiences on this thread or somehow suggest that they are not attractive. Sorry if it comes across that way.