The chemistry of being in love
If you have been in the throes of love you have indeed had a memorable experience. Many studies have revealed that there are chemicals involved when you fall intensely in love with someone. The biochemical reactions driving this attraction make love struck persons become obsessed with their love object, at times quite irrationally.
Dr Alverston Bailey, author of Sexplanations: A guide to discussing sex and sexuality in the Caribbean, said when we are attracted to each other, a cascade of events occur in our bodies resulting in flushed cheeks, racing hearts and clammy hands.
“So we are at the mercy of our biochemistry,” he said.
One study featured in Dr Bailey’s book notes that when you fall in love, the same system becomes active as when you take cocaine.
“It is now known that people who have recently fallen in love have some of the symptoms of the mental disorder called obsessive compulsive disorder,” he added.
Many hormones are released when you are overcome by love — the female sex hormone (oestrogen); the libido enhancing hormone (testosterone); the cuddle chemical (oxytocin); and the pleasure chemicals (dopamine and serotonin).
“All these chemicals are not released at once but instead at various stages of the love cycle,” Dr Bailey explained.
So the next time your heart begins to beat fast; your head feels giddy; your hands become sweaty and an exhilarating feeling runs down your body, just remember that it is an intense cocktail of chemicals that is giving you this feeling of being love struck.
