Love Is A Drug: Exploring Love, Drugs, And Hormones
Love is a drug
For many, love is an unexplained emotion that almost seems supernatural. It's irrational, comes out of nowhere, is powerful, and it can be fickle. Many have tried to understand what love is, and for some, it makes us human.
However, when you look at love scientifically, chemicals in the brain can help to explain this emotional state. Everything you experience is brain chemicals, and love is no exception. This isn't to devalue the power of love but simply explain it. In this post, we'll look at the science of love, and tell you how it's similiar to a drug.
Oxytocin as a “love drug”
We should begin this article by talking about oxytocin, also called the love hormone or the love drug. Despite its name, oxytocin is involved in other emotions besides love. It's a motherly hormone, which is released during childbirth. Oxytocin may contribute to social bonds and stress regulation, and may be associated with other emotions such as empathy and trust. Typically, females experience the chemical more.
The love hormone name comes from the fact that levels of oxytocin increase during sex, particularly during orgasm, as well as intimate activities like hugging, kissing, and cuddling.
Oxytocin is produced and released in the brain: the hypothalamus produces oxytocin, while the posterior pituitary gland releases it into the bloodstream. The production and release of oxytocin occurs in what’s called a “positive feedback loop” in the body. This means that when oxytocin is released, it triggers an action that stimulates the brain to release even more oxytocin.
Oxytocin as a drug
Oxytocin has been shown to benefit many people, including those with autism spectrum disorder, anxiety, and other mental health conditions. It's also sold as a drug. This drug is called Pitocin, and it has many uses. Oxytocin can help women give birth, and it reduces the negative side effects associated with birth, such as bleeding. With that said, it's monitored carefully during injection, as too much can damage the uterus.
Strangely enough, oxytocin may be used to finish a miscarriage or induce one. If you're having trouble miscarrying, the doctors may give you a shot of oxytocin to finish this process.
Oxytocin and love
Of course, we came here to learn more about how it's linked to love. It has been discovered that couples, usually in the early stages of romance, have a higher oxytocin level than those who are single. Early couples are more sexually involved, so the increase in oxytocin makes sense.
Biologically, why does oxytocin increase when we have sex? It helps erections last longer, and it's released during orgasm. Some believe that it helps sperm reach the egg more easily.
Oxytocin can affect your emotions as well. Certain behaviors can change due to oxytocin affecting them. High levels can lead to trust, relaxation, and lesser anxiety, which can be a good treatment for many mental disorders.
It's a complex chemical and one that is still not fully understood. It has many functions, and not all of them involve love, despite what its nickname suggests. And it's just one chemical that can affect how your brain behaves. The brain is more complex than having just one chemical for one emotion. Many chemicals can affect one emotion, and we will discuss it below.
Testosterone and love
Another hormone involved in males when it comes to love: testosterone. Testosterone, as you probably know, makes a man competitive, and lower levels are linked to a low sex drive, depression, and fatigue. Over time, testosterone levels go down, so it's a bit difficult to manage them.
For men, they need to have good amounts of oxytocin and testosterone. When it comes to oxytocin, you can talk more to your spouse, cuddle more, kiss, and just be intimate with each other. As for testosterone levels, you can increase them through hormone therapy, exercising, or hanging out with other men. Also, testosterone can increase through validation. Winning at life, including seeing a sports team win, can increase testosterone as well.
Hormones at different stages
Your hormones can change depending on what stage of love you're at. Let's look at some of those stages and see how those chemicals change.
Lust
Lust is a stage that can be its own thing, where you're sexually attracted to someone, get in a sexual relationship with them, and then the relationship falls apart once the lust is gone. However, lust can also be the beginning of a new relationship. Lust, in this stage, involves the release of estrogen and testosterone. We discussed how testosterone affects the sex drive, and how estrogen helps women as well. However, women also release testosterone during a sexual encounter.
Love is a drug: Being lovestruck
When you truly fall in love with someone, this is the next stage. This is when that person is always on your mind. They keep you up at night, they may eat less, and they're just drunk with love. This stage involves chemicals as well, and let's look at the three that are released:
- Dopamine is the chemical associated with reward. You receive a gift or experience a high-risk reward, and then the chemicals hit you. Dopamine is one of the reasons why people have drug addictions. The body releases high levels of dopamine when they first use a substance, and then they spend their lives chasing the dopamine rush afterward. In a relationship, there are risks and rewards, such as asking the girl you love out and having her say yes.
- This is a neurotransmitter that has been connected to arousal and readiness.
- This is a chemical in your brain that has been linked to lowering depression, making you feel less anxious, keeps you focused, and keeps you calm. When you're attracted to someone, you feel like you're at peace, and serotonin is to thank for that. These chemical reactions make it seem like love is like a drug.
Attachment
This stage of romance is important. Once the love drunkenness is gone, what then? If there's no attachment, then the relationship won't last. Commitment is when you want to build a future with this person, and chemicals are being released into your brain at this time as well, including:
- The love chemical returns and it's especially prevalent when a couple has a child. The want to build a future with this child is quite strong, and because of that, oxytocin will continue to be produced.
- This is a chemical associated with the kidneys, but scientists have discovered a link between vasopressin and committing to someone.
The brain is quite incredible, releasing chemicals for different situations at different times. Even during heartbreak.
Your brain on heartbreak
When heartbreak occurs, your brain has different chemicals as well. Let's go back to dopamine. As mentioned before, dopamine is associated with reward, and it's how many get addicted to drugs. When you fall out of love, you're no longer experiencing that dopamine rush, so your body panics and tries to find a way to get it back.
Some people will find some desperate ways to get that feeling back. They may turn to getting into a messy rebound relationship or trying to get their ex back desperately. Once the dust settles, your brain goes back to normal, and you may look at the relationship with disgust or embarrassment. Love is blind, and one of the reasons it blinds is due to the chemicals you're experiencing.
Other hormones that are released at this time include adrenaline. We all know that adrenaline is linked to fight-or-flight sensations, and this is yet another reason why you may try to fix your relationship or get into a new one ASAP. Cortisol is another hormone that can affect you. These hormones can make you not sleep at night, make your heart beat oddly, and even take over your immune system. Ever got sick after a breakup? This is why.
Of course, you shouldn't use your chemicals as an excuse to do something that you may regret. You still can control your actions, and you can fix your emotions by talking to friends or trying to go on casual dates to numb the pain. We understand that breakup is hard, but don't stalk your ex, don't try to get into a serious relationship when you aren't ready, and do not try to let the pain bring you down. If you still don't know what to do…
Seek help
In the end, love is nothing but chemicals, and if you need to have someone explain how love works, or tell you how you can deal with your problems, then you may want to talk to a therapist for more information. A therapist can tell you why you're experiencing the emotions you're feeling, and help you when you're dealing with heartbreak. The chemicals in your brain can blind you, and it can be rather difficult for you to be able to focus and figure out what to do next. A therapist can teach you how to be more mindful and how to be rational when the chemicals want you to do something silly.
If you're having trouble with your relationship, the chemicals in your mind can make you feel irrational and can worsen the argument. A therapist can be able to be the cool head who can calm you and your partner down and help you come up with solutions.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Which drugs are known as love hormones?
When people talk about the love hormone, they’re usually referring to oxytocin. Oxytocin is produced in the body as a result of surging dopamine and serotonin levels. Dopamine and serotonin are the reactions to feeling attracted to another person, and ultimately lead to the production and release of the hormone oxytocin. For this reason, people call oxytocin the love hormone.
Do men produce oxytocin?
Oxytocin is a hormone that is found in both men and women. While the bonding effects of oxytocin may not jive with societal stereotypes about men and masculinity, men are still affected by oxytocin and its consequences. For example, a 2012 study looked at the bonds and interactions between several fathers and their respective 5-month-old babies. Some fathers were given a shot of oxytocin as a nasal spray, and others weren’t. The fathers who had been exposed to oxytocin as part of the experiment were much more attentive and active when it came to interacting with their babies than those who hadn’t been given oxytocin. So, the researchers concluded that their bond was closer as a result of the oxytocin.
There is another hormone, called vasopressin, which is also found in the male body. Vasopressin is also believed to contribute to and boost the bonding instinct in med, much like oxytocin.
What does oxytocin do to your body?
The love hormone oxytocin can have a number of effects on your body. For instance, it’s a hormone that acts against many of the physical responses to stress, such as tense muscles, hyperventilation, and a racing heartbeat. This means that oxytocin is a hormone that can counteract a lot of the symptoms of a panic or anxiety attack. Also, many people oxytocin the love hormone because it helps to strengthen the bonds between people and memories. This means that it helps to foster a sense of closeness and “love” between two people, or between a person and their experiences.
Oxytocin is a hormone that affects your entire body, including your mind. For example, this powerful hormone has been shown to increase the effectiveness of communication between partners, especially when they are disagreeing or arguing. This is because intranasal oxytocin is believed to help you cue in on social signals and other non-verbal communication clues. This, in turn, helps you to communicate more effectively, even in emotionally-charged situations.
What is the hormone of happiness?
There are four main hormones that have been attributed to positive feelings and happiness. These are dopamine, serotonin, endorphins, and oxytocin. All four of these hormones are emitted when the brain and body experience positive or pleasurable stimuli, so their release is often interpreted as happiness. Some also go as far as to call oxytocin a love hormone, since it not only signals happiness but also prompts one to attach emotionally to the stimuli. This means that oxytocin is a hormone that often causes people to feel like they are in love, as a response to an attraction, physical or otherwise, to another person.
What foods increase oxytocin levels?
Oxytocin is a hormone whose release can be prompted by the consumption of some specific foods. These foods are often known as aphrodisiacs, since they supposedly make people “fall in love” while eating them. However, this sensation can probably be chalked up to the increased oxytocin levels.
Some of the best foods for increasing oxytocin levels are figs, avocados, spinach, green tea, and watermelon For men, almonds and other foods that are high in omega 3 fatty acids can complement the released oxytocin by boosting libido. For women, coffee can help to increase sexual desire while also maintaining a nice balance of the feel-good hormones.
What are the four happy hormones?
There are four hormones that ultimately make you feel happier. They are:
- Dopamine: This is a hormone that acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain’s reward system. It is activated when you experience something pleasurable. It is also linked to the processes of learning and forming memories, among others.
- Oxytocin: This is also referred to as the love hormone, because it helps to promote trust, empathy, and bonding. Oxytocin is released during close-contact activities with a trusted person, such as breastfeeding, cuddling, kissing, and sex. It helps to regulate physical responses to stressors, which helps you feel more at ease and relaxed.
- Serotonin: This is a hormone that acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain’s regulatory system. This means that serotonin plays a huge role in keeping your sleep cycle, appetite, and memory in order. When you have good levels of serotonin, your body can function regularly and you’ll feel happier and less stressed.
- Endorphins: These are the body’s first response to stress or discomfort, and they act like the brain’s pain reliever. Endorphins are more readily produced when you work out, have sex, eat something, or do other activities that the brain perceives as a reward.
These hormones don’t necessarily cause happiness, but they are the body’s natural response to things that make you happy. So, when you feel the effects of these hormones as a result of positive input, you usually feel a surge of happiness and positive emotions.
What triggers oxytocin release?
In terms of day-to-day activities, snuggling, kissing, or bonding socially are great ways to spur on the release of oxytocin. These close bonding activities prompt the brain to release oxytocin as a response to the positive input. In turn, the brain reads the oxytocin release as a positive sign of a positive interaction, and you feel happier as a whole.
While these little bonding activities can release some oxytocin, the biggest surge of oxytocin comes right after delivering a baby. After the grueling process of delivering a baby, the woman’s brain releases a flood of oxytocin. This hormone prompts the mother to bond with the baby instead of resenting or rejecting it. Breastfeeding also causes huge amounts of oxytocin to be released, which strengthens the bond between the mother and the child.
Can oxytocin cause depression?
In some cases, oxytocin can cause pain or trigger emotional hurt. This is because the release of oxytocin during stressful or painful experiences can send mixed signals to the brain. This means that the brain might have a more difficult time reacting correctly to positive input in the future. Overall and over time, this has the potential to contribute to anxiety, especially for women. The typical reactions to this stress and anxiety often present as depression-like symptoms.
So, while oxytocin might not directly cause clinical depression, it can lead to depression-like symptoms and a worsening or less stable mood, especially in females.
What does oxytocin do in females?
How do men get oxytocin?
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