Love is selfless, attachment is self-centered
When you are in love, you focus on making the other person happy. you are always thinking of ways to make sure that your partner feels loved and fulfilled. You don't emotionally blackmail your partner, try to manipulate them, or seek to dominate the relationship. When you are merely attached to someone, you are focused upon the ways in which they can make you happy. You become heavily dependent upon your partner and may even try to control him or her to avoid abandonment.
There is no insecurity in love
Text him/her to see if he/she replies back immediately. If your partner fails to get back immediately or if you feel insecure, you may be more into the attachment phase than love. In true love, there is no room for any insecurity.
Love is freeing, attachment is possessive
When you are in love, you don't need to see the person to feel safe. You don't need to be with this person to understand how he or she feels. You never wonder about your love's affection and never get jealous. When it's just attachment, you never have a true hold on your partner's feelings because the only time you feel safe is when you are with him or her. When you are apart, you can't help but wonder what, or who, he or she is doing.
Love is liberating, attachment is controlling
Mutual love allows you to be your true self. Your partner encourages you to be who you genuinely are and you won't be afraid to expose your weaknesses. Love is never controlling. In actuality, love transcends control. Your partner's ability to accept you for who you are and encourage you to pursue your dreams allows you to let go of the need to control their life. Attachment, on the other hand, tends to fuel controlling behavior. You may discourage your partner from spending time with their friends, play mind games, or put an unhealthy level of focus on pleasing them. You may even try to manipulate them into staying with you regardless of their feelings.
Love is accept his or her flaws, attachment is blaming
Though you know that your partner isn't perfect, you accept him or her wholeheartedly if your love is true. If you are blaming him or her all the time reminding how much you are really struggling to accept the shortcomings of your partner then you may be just in an attachment phase that might never reach the stage of true love.
Love is ego-reducing, attachment is ego-boosting
When in love, you become less self-centered. Your relationship serves to reduce your ego, fosters your growth, and encourages you to become less selfish and more loving.
Alternatively, relationships based on attachment are typically dominated by the ego. This is why many people repeatedly fall into a continuous stream of unsatisfying relationships, each of which involves the same, recurrent problems. You find it difficult to look within and resolve your issues.
In love you will value the other person, In attachment you are addicted to the other person's company
In love, you would value the other person more than yourself, whereas in the attachment phase, you are just addicted to the other person's company. In this way, there can be minor differences caused between true love and a relationship that is purely based on emotional attachment.