WHAT IS LOVE?*
Love is a word that defies definition. It is an emotion that escapes comprehension. A number of poets, writers, and scientists have tried to come up with an all-encompassing definition of Love but what they have produced caters only to a small part of this vast concept.
Some call it a mere purposeless attraction to people or things. Others declare it a primordial emotion programmed into our DNA to ensure reproduction. Some associate it merely with romance. Yet others see it as an attraction to anything, even to abstract ideas.
However, one aspect of love that is more or less agreed upon is the pleasant feeling it induces, the positive emotions it elicits, and the healing power it possesses. Modern medical research backs up and affirms these ideas.
LOVE; FROM ABSTRACT TO MATERIAL
Just like every other emotion, love too takes a material form within our brains in the form of neuropeptides and hormones. It is governed by hormones such as oxytocin, vasopressin, testosterone, estrogen, dopamine, and norepinephrine.¹ To be more specific, “Love is an emergent property of an ancient cocktail of neuropeptides and neurotransmitters”. ¹
Some of these substances, like oxytocin, elicit the feeling of attraction and attachment. Some make you feel euphoric and happy. Others, through indirect pathways, have far-reaching effects on our mental and physical health.
One very interesting research makes the case that since a loss of love or attachment drives our minds to a drastically negative state then it is only logical to imagine that acquiring love would do the opposite i.e.: bring drastic positive change to our mental state of being.
Let’s see how such an abstract concept can possess the power of healing.
““LOVE IS AN EMERGENT PROPERTY OF AN ANCIENT COCKTAIL OF NEUROPEPTIDES AND NEUROTRANSMITTERS”.”
EFFECT ON BODY
Physical Health
The feeling of love release dopamine and norepinephrine which lead to feelings of happiness and motivation. A person is more cautious about his physical well-being and is more invested in promoting health through proper diet and exercise. In addition to that, these chemicals promote the balanced functioning of multiple organ systems.²
Alleviation of stress
Being in love or feeling loved provides a sense of attachment and security that keeps the stress and anxiety at bay. A person is protected from the effects of stress, which suppresses bodily functions, and also from mental diseases such as depression, psychosis, etc.
Research comparing two groups of committed and single individuals indicates that people who are in a committed relationship demonstrate a buffered stress response. This is in part due to some function of the vagus nerve.³
Protection from diseases
The reciprocal relationship between the brain and the immune system is activated by the chemicals produced in the body as a consequence of the emotion of love. The positive effects of this interaction manifest as enhanced immunity which helps fight off infections.⁴
Moreover, the person experiencing love has better control of blood pressure, sugar, and cholesterol. Any derangement in these measures is the root cause of various diseases of Liver, Lung, heart, etc. This advantage of “being in love” is more pronounced through healthy sexual activity, which is associated with the release of oxytocin, testosterone, and estrogen.⁵
Healthy romantic activity is something that I talk about in more detail in my book Lead A Horse To Water.⁶
Pain relief
“Love is a painkiller.” This may sound like something a mad lover would say and would be considered insane by someone who abhors such feelings. Surprisingly though, seeing your loved ones does reduce the sensitivity to pain through the production of dopamine which activates the pathways that result in the production of opioids; the natural pain killer.⁷
Cellular senescence
On a microscopic level, chemicals produced as a consequence of love promote cellular health. Oxytocin plays a role in decreasing cellular senescence by the release of substances that protect DNA from damage. This reduces the risk of malignant transformation and age-related diseases.⁸
When trying to comprehend the healing power of love, this becomes of prime importance. We know that the key to prolonging youthful longevity is to promote cellular health. Understanding that the emotion of love and all its associated activities can promote this goal is only going to help you along this path.
EFFECT ON MIND
Sense of Attachment
As love evolves, it brings in the feeling of attachment to that person, which culminates in the desire to perpetuate the relationship. It may seem to be a rational, well-thought decision, but actually, it’s the chemicals produced in the brain that prompt this action. Research has shown that oxytocin and vasopressin are predominantly involved in the development of this feeling.⁹
Happiness
Norepinephrine; which activates the brain; and dopamine; which stimulates the reward center in the brain; are responsible for all the excitement, surprise, joy, and cheerfulness that accompanies love. Research indicates higher levels of contentment and happiness in married couples compared to single individuals.¹⁰
Read that again. What more does a person want than to be happy and satisfied? The most basic dream that every heart, or mind rather, harbors in this life is to be happy. And love is the emotion that can realize this dream. Loving a person, an object, or an idea can direct you to a path where every living moment gives you happiness. And this is the very definition of “Living in the moment.”
Learning and Memory
This one might come as a surprise but being in Love can actually stimulate brain activity that results in improved cognition and memory. This effect has been shown through various researches. This won’t make your mind into a memory palace like that of Sherlock Holmes’ but the effect is not insignificant. It is especially pronounced regarding the memory of events related to romantic encounters. ¹¹
Better mental Health
Love is associated with positive emotions and lack of stress. It also strengthens our mental capabilities due to the improved functioning of the brain. Having someone to share your feelings with is mentally relaxing and it protects you from various mental diseases. Additionally, the feeling of loneliness leads to altered behavior and habits such as drug abuse and smoking. A person in love is protected from such a feeling and its associated vices.¹²
“AND LOVE IS THE EMOTION THAT CAN REALIZE THIS DREAM. LOVING A PERSON, AN OBJECT, OR AN IDEA CAN DIRECT YOU TO A PATH WHERE EVERY LIVING MOMENT GIVES YOU HAPPINESS. AND THIS IS THE VERY DEFINITION OF “LIVING IN THE MOMENT.””
CONCLUSION
Love possesses power as no other emotion can. It transforms our state of being and turns our perspective on life upside down. Love changes our attitude, our psychology, and even some aspects of our physiology. Love reaches deep into the core of our being and pulls out the best that life has to offer. Love takes over our personalities and brings about such a profound change that its loss can drive us mad. At the same time, Love possesses a healing power that no medication of modern medicine has been able to provide.
Today, we see love as an emotion so greatly intertwined with lust and other toxicities that it may be hard to imagine it to be as pure as it supposedly is. What we need to do is to review how we define Love, how we believe in Love, and how we act Love out. Because LOVE is the one feeling that is guaranteed to make our life worth living. We at LiveYounger are working towards this very goal!
* Excerpts from Nidal’s upcoming book “THE ANATOMY OF LOVE”
Bibliography
- K. Seshadri, “The neuroendocrinology of love,” Indian J. Endocrinol. Metab., vol. 20, no. 4, p. 558, Jul. 2016, DOI: 10.4103/2230-8210.183479.
- “The healing energy of love – PubMed.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8795902/ (accessed Jan. 16, 2022).
- I. Schneiderman, Y. Zilberstein-Kra, J. F. Leckman, and R. Feldman, “Love alters autonomic reactivity to emotions,” Emotion, vol. 11, no. 6, pp. 1314–1321, Dec. 2011, DOI: 10.1037/A0024090.
- D. R. Murray, M. G. Haselton, M. Fales, and S. W. Cole, “Falling in Love is Associated with Immune System Gene Regulation,” Psychoneuroendocrinology, vol. 100, p. 120, Feb. 2019, DOI: 10.1016/J.PSYNEUEN.2018.09.043.
- J. Brecher, “Sex, stress, and health,” Int. J. Health Serv., vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 89–101, 1977, doi: 10.2190/NBK8-VL8W-ADHV-JKTC.
- N.Sakr, “Lead A Horse To Water”, pp.21-22, 2021
- S. L. Master, N. I. Eisenberger, S. E. Taylor, B. D. Naliboff, D. Shirinyan, and M. D. Lieberman, “A picture’s worth: Partner photographs reduce experimentally induced pain,” Psychol. Sci., vol. 20, no. 11, pp. 1316–1318, Nov. 2009, DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02444.x.
- S. Y. Cho, A. Y. Kim, J. Kim, D. H. Choi, E. D. Son, and D. W. Shin, “Oxytocin alleviates cellular senescence through oxytocin receptor-mediated extracellular signal-regulated kinase/Nrf2 signaling,” Br. J. Dermatol., vol. 181, no. 6, pp. 1216–1225, Dec. 2019, DOI: 10.1111/BJD.17824.
- D. J. Stein and B. Vythilingum, “Love and attachment: the psychobiology of social bonding,” CNS Spectr., vol. 14, no. 5, pp. 239–242, 2009, DOI: 10.1017/S1092852900025384.
- R. J. Waldinger and M. S. Schulz, “What’s love got to do with it? Social functioning, perceived health, and daily happiness in married octogenarians,” Psychol. Aging, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 422–431, 2010, DOI: 10.1037/A0019087.
- S. J. E. Langeslag, J. R. Olivier, M. E. Köhlen, I. M. Nijs, and J. W. Van Strien, “Increased attention and memory for beloved-related information during infatuation: behavioral and electrophysiological data,” Soc. Cogn. Affect. Neurosci., vol. 10, no. 1, p. 136, Jan. 2015, doi: 10.1093/SCAN/NSU034.
- “Love promotes health – PubMed.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15990734/ (accessed Jan. 16, 2022).