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by Samuel L. Brown, MSW

Have you ever been so deeply in love you felt intoxicated?

You meet someone for the first time and immediately feel mesmerized. Even after your first date, you stutter while talking. Your breathing is deeper. Your heart beats faster and you stumble while walking together. You never grow tired of being with this person whom you admire, respect, and make you feel special. You think about this person even when you are not together. You had experienced physical attraction and intense sexual energy before, but never to this extent or intensity. When the two of you touch or kiss, an adrenaline rush makes you feel a total body sensation of pleasure. Many refer to your feelings as “lust,” others call it “the chemistry of love.”

Lust involves a physical attraction, craving, or sexual desire. Love is an all-consuming passionate (deeply felt emotional, spiritual, and physical) affection for someone that you truly like.

The primary focus of this article is not to differentiate between lust and love, but to let you know about chemicals in your body that influence feelings associated with love.

Studies on the psychology of human behavior and how brain chemicals influence relationships, have led many to believe that based on your life experiences, you have an unconscious need to seek a mate that makes you feel safe and desirable. Such needs are believed to be influenced by your brain chemistry.

Research shows that human brains release drug-like chemicals known as hormones and neurotransmitters. These chemicals are your body’s messengers. They serve as sources of communication transmitting signals and impulses from one nerve cell or organ to other cells through your blood stream and central nervous system.

The following five brain chemicals identified by researchers are known to speed up communication between your brain, vital organs, and cells, causing you to feel highly excited or act giddy when you feel deeply in love:

Phenylethylamine or PEA, are chemicals which produces the neurotransmitter dopamine. Studies show that phenylethylamine occurs naturally in the brain, but have properties similar to those of amphetamine, known as “speed.”

Dopamine, is a neurotransmitter that produces a pituitary hormone called oxytocin, which increases your sensitivity to touch or sexual activity. When dopamine is released in the body, it has been known to produce romantic feelings.

Serotonin, is produced in your brain as a neurotransmitter, which affects your mood and sexual behavior. An insufficient amount of serotonin has been linked as a cause for low sexual drives, sadness or depression, aggression, and poor impulse control in some people.

Norepinephrine, in the brain, stimulates the production of adrenaline, which can make your heart beat faster, raise your blood pressure, and influence emotional or physical arousal.

Endorphin, is naturally produced in the pituitary gland of the brain and serves as a neurotransmitter with similar functions as morphine. During emotional intimacy or physical activities, secretion of endorphin helps you create a sense of happiness and togetherness, especially if you are in a trusting and loving relationship.

So, mutual trust and honesty can influence the intensity and longevity of love beyond fleeting spurts of an adrenaline rush.

Tags: honesty, love, lust, physical attraction, trust

This entry was posted on Monday, October 5th, 2009 at 8:32 pm and is filed under Relationship. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.