Love and Your Health

I think it's safe to say that everyone in this room wants to find their perfect Mr. or Mrs. Right, except in your case Dr. J. Weather consciously or not you seek the approval of those you are attracted to in hopes that it will sometime turn into something more. And when that something more does happen you feel on top of the world. Every time you see that special someone or they call you, you get that gitty feeling inside that makes just makes you want to smile. You notice that there is a bounce in your step and facing the day is no longer a chore. You're in love. Although you may feel better than you can ever remember this passion induced euphoria can actually be detrimental to both your mental and physical health.

According to Dr. Helen Fisher, anthropologist at Rutgers University, "when in love the part of your brain that is associated with fear, or the amygdale, decreases its production of hormones and can cause your internal alarm system to deteriorate." Your internal alarm system governs your rational thought, so without it you are more likely to put yourself in dangerous situations without weighing the consequences. A small example of this might be that you decide to go to the beach with your significant other instead of going to class or work. This example may not seem as though the consequences are that great but given enough time it can become a bigger problem.

While your amygdale's activity decreases the production of norepinephrine, the hormone that keeps your mind focused on certain things, increases. You may think that this sounds like it might be a good thing, more hormone means more focus. Well this statement is only partially true, it's true that you will be more focused but all that extra focus, and more, goes straight to your significant other making it hard for you to focus on anything else. This becomes a problem in things such as class, when you are spacing out thinking about what you and your partner are going to do afterward rather than taking those essential notes.

Another hormone that increases is dopamine, the hormone associated with reward. According to Dr. Fisher "it is dopamine that is responsible for the cocaine addict's high, the chocolate lover's satisfaction, the cigarette smoker's contentment, and evidently the lover's passionate obsession." Every time you spend time with your significant other your dopamine levels elevate so the more you are around the one you love the happier you feel and the more you want to be around them, or you crave them so to speak. This craving to be around the one you love can also take a turn for the worst, because the elevated levels of dopamine can cause you to feel addicted which in turn can make you feel sad and depressed when your lover is not around.

There are many repercussions to these increased and decreased hormone levels that can harm your physical life. For instance with the decreased levels of hormone