Your Brain On Love
“People do crazy things, when they’re in love” - Megara, Disney’s Hercules, 1997.
As a kid who grew up on Disney, I have seen many unrealistic romantic scenarios play out, but I can honestly say that Megara was speaking some serious truth after saving good ol’ Herc from a falling pillar. People absolutely do crazy things when they are in love, in fact being in love makes you illogical. Now, I’m not saying love is stupid, or that you are stupid, but I am saying that parts of the brain aren’t as active while we are in the throes of it. The parts responsible for reason, self-awareness, and critical thinking in the frontal cortex, are essentially ‘napping’ while you become infatuated with your partner; this explains why so many red flags go unnoticed, and our rationality goes out the window.
Just like drugs and alcohol, love interacts with neurotransmitters in the brain’s pleasure center, which is why very often you hear people saying, ‘love is a drug.’ The major transmitters that flood the brain’s reward-pleasure center are dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, oxytocin, and vasopressin. Dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin are the neurotransmitters responsible for the giddiness, and infatuation that typically occurs within the beginning stages of attraction, or perhaps the ‘honeymoon phase,’ of a relationship. These may even cause difficulty sleeping/insomnia, or cause your appetite to drop since most of your thoughts are consumed by the object of your affection. Oxytocin and vasopressin are neurotransmitters that fire off within the brain to secure attachment. These neurotransmitters strengthen the bond between couples, and are the reasons why your attraction to anyone else other than your current partner is non-existent.
When the reward-pleasure center is lit up, and the attachment system is being activated, you will notice that you are more attuned to your partner, and are even more inclined to compromise or sacrifice what you want in order to better the relationship, or their situation. These neurotransmitters will even decrease stress, and it is shown that those who are in love, tend to have a more positive mood from day to day, and struggle with anxiety and depression less significantly than those who are not in love.
We have all heard the cliches about love being blind, a drug, a rollercoaster, and a battlefield. Yet, science proves that there is truth within all the cliches. Love is the only drug that didn’t have to be approved by the FDA, but it is one of the most potent, and widely available drugs there are on the streets these days. Love responsibly.