“Love is the emblem of eternity; it confounds all notion of time; effaces all memory of a beginning, all fear of an end. – Madame de Stael”
Love is one of the most talked-about subjects in the history of mankind, and this is evident from novels, poems, songs, and movies. A boy fell in love with a girl; it’s a tale as old as time. Cultural and historical as well as evolutionary accounts suggest that our world is driven by two very strong emotions — love and hate. You may think hate leads to wars, but love is also what results in disagreements and war.
Kings have laid down their throne for love, and they have challenged others to a duel for love. The love people fight for doesn’t have to be romantic. More often than not, the love for family is one of the biggest driving forces in someone’s life. That’s how we know love doesn’t have only one facet. It has many levels and layers. A person can deeply love their partner. A mother can love her children, and children can love their parents. Friends can love each other. Siblings can have love for each other in their hearts, and so on. Love can take different forms and be different for every person. However, it’s romantic love that excites most people. Romantic love has become a huge part of current pop culture. One study found that this type of love was found in over 147 cultures. The beauty of romantic love is that it’s different for different people. The experience varies from culture to culture and from person to person. A mother’s love for her child is universal, but the same can’t be said about romantic love.
When we fall in love with a person, the feelings are different. It’s not only the emotional aspect but biological as well. Our brains also react differently when we fall in love. A study found that falling in love is as addictive as smoking because they both release dopamine. Dopamine is a ‘feel-good’ hormone, and people are addicted to this feeling of excitement and euphoria.
What Does Psychology Say About Love?
When it comes to love, Elizabeth Kane, a faculty member of South University, says, “The first step in the process of falling in love is the initial attraction. It’s the powerful moment when we meet another person and feel energized and are immediately aware of our heart pounding.”
It’s a powerful bond between two people that’s not only emotionally intertwined but psychologically intertwined as well. Three chemical substances are involved in the process—phenethylamine, dopamine, and oxytocin. These chemicals make us feel excited and alert and cause us to want to bond with someone.
When we see the person we love, we feel energized. We feel as if all the problems in the world have disappeared.
Dr. Kane says, “Romantic love evolves when one feels a sense of interdependence, attachment, and that their psychological needs are being met. Some researchers say oxytocin plays a part in the evolution of romantic love as it’s released in the brain during orgasm, which contributes to the couple’s ability to bond with one another.”
“Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don’t know how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of witherings, of tarnishings.― Anais Nin”