What is love? Ask any number of people, and their will no doubt be poetic, full of imagery and loose metaphor. Indeed, love is primarily just a word invented by humans to describe an emotion, and so by its very nature is eternally difficult to describe. But, despite of this there is some science behind it all. And chemical imbalances in your brain are often to blame for the joy and ecstasy you may feel whilst being 'in love'. Love is thought to develop over a series of 'stages'. These stages are:
• Lust
• Attraction
• Attachment
Lust is there to help expose people to others, and is the initial sexual desire. It promotes mating on a very instinctive level, and involves the a heightened release of chemicals such as testosterone in males and estrogen in females. The initial effects of lust don't very often last longer than a few weeks or months, before the more specific attraction sets in.
Attraction is a lot more specific to an individual and marks the start of a romantic desire for a particular person with regards to their candidacy for partnership. It develops out of lust as commitment to an individual partner expands. Studies have shown that as a relationship develops and people start to fall in love, the brain releases a steady stream of chemicals including dopamine, pheromones, serotonin, and norepinephrine. These chemicals act in a manner similar to that of amphetamines, stimulating the brain's pleasure centers, leading to side effects such as a loss of appetite, an intense feeling of excitement, and an increased heart rate.
These first two 'stages' of love are considered temporary, and so the third one, attraction, is deemed to be needed in order to for long-term relationships. During attachment, a bond forms that helps to promote relationships the could go on to last for many years and even decades. The attachment is based on commitments - commitments such as marriage and children - or mutual friendships based on shared interests etc. Higher levels of chemicals like vasopressin and oxytocin have been linked more to long-term relationships as opposed to short-term relationships.
Of course, the above 'stages' refer to interpersonal love. That is, the love between two human beings. But we can also be said to love objects, goals, or principles if we value them greatly and are deeply committed to it, which is known as an impersonal love.
• Lust
• Attraction
• Attachment
Lust is there to help expose people to others, and is the initial sexual desire. It promotes mating on a very instinctive level, and involves the a heightened release of chemicals such as testosterone in males and estrogen in females. The initial effects of lust don't very often last longer than a few weeks or months, before the more specific attraction sets in.
Attraction is a lot more specific to an individual and marks the start of a romantic desire for a particular person with regards to their candidacy for partnership. It develops out of lust as commitment to an individual partner expands. Studies have shown that as a relationship develops and people start to fall in love, the brain releases a steady stream of chemicals including dopamine, pheromones, serotonin, and norepinephrine. These chemicals act in a manner similar to that of amphetamines, stimulating the brain's pleasure centers, leading to side effects such as a loss of appetite, an intense feeling of excitement, and an increased heart rate.
These first two 'stages' of love are considered temporary, and so the third one, attraction, is deemed to be needed in order to for long-term relationships. During attachment, a bond forms that helps to promote relationships the could go on to last for many years and even decades. The attachment is based on commitments - commitments such as marriage and children - or mutual friendships based on shared interests etc. Higher levels of chemicals like vasopressin and oxytocin have been linked more to long-term relationships as opposed to short-term relationships.
Of course, the above 'stages' refer to interpersonal love. That is, the love between two human beings. But we can also be said to love objects, goals, or principles if we value them greatly and are deeply committed to it, which is known as an impersonal love.
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