It describes the formation, persistence, and resolution constraints of coupled causal chains under mediated or unresolved conditions.
A relational loop is not a psychological dynamic and not an emotional condition.
It is a structural condition created when causality between chain actors cannot complete.
The loop exists in the relational structure itself, not within any individual chain actor.
Relational loops form when:
causal consequence between actors is interrupted
mediation enters between relational cause and effect
responsibility is structurally displaced
resolution is replaced with regulation, correction, or management
These conditions do not alter causality.
They redirect it.
The loop is not emotional.
It is architectural.
Relational loops are mediated chains spanning multiple actors.
At a high level, the structure is:
One chain actor initiates a causal action
A second chain actor registers an effect
An intermediary structure intercepts the relational chain
Consequence is displaced away from the originating relation
The relational chain remains open
Interaction repeats under altered surface conditions
The unresolved chain embeds itself in the relationship, which becomes the container for persistence.
What repeats is not the event.
What repeats is the unclosed structure.
In a non-teleological system, distorted chains are not failures, deviations, or faults.
They are stable patterns produced by existing structural conditions.
A distorted chain persists when:
awareness is mediated
responsibility is misassigned
relational load is non-local
intervention is unavailable, unsafe, or incoherent
no alternative chain is structurally accessible
Persistence does not imply error.
It implies continuity.
Coherence does not function as an “exit” from distortion.
It is one possible condition under which structural change may occur.
Where coherence is unavailable, distorted chains can remain indefinitely without violation of the system.
No requirement exists that a chain resolve.
Relational loops do not persist because of misunderstanding, emotion, or lack of insight.
They persist because:
consequence does not return to its point of origin
relational chains are prevented from closing
mediation absorbs what relationships require to resolve
Relationships do not loop because people feel too much.
They loop because causality has nowhere to land.
The behavioral persistence that follows is mechanical, not motivational.
Relational loops do not dissolve through negotiation, insight, or behavioral agreement.
They resolve only when:
mediation withdraws from the relational chain
consequence is allowed to complete relationally
closure occurs at the level of interaction
no external structure substitutes for resolution
Replacement, reconfiguration, or separation may occur after closure,
but cannot produce closure themselves.
This note defines the conceptual scope of Relational Loop Theory.
It does explain:
what relational loops are
how loops form under mediation
why loops persist structurally
how loops relate to systems and causal mediation
It does not explain:
mechanical loop behavior
positional system occupation
mediation law
These distinctions prevent category errors and preserve architectural coherence.