We’ve all heard the expression, “Crazy in Love,” and the fortunate few may have actually experienced this state of imbalanced bliss. It’s like a manic wave of emotion ebbing between absolute completion of the soul and heart-wrenching agony. Anyone who has ever been in love knows exactly what I’m talking about.
You find yourself rearranging everything in your routine to squeeze in little bites of love, and when you’re not together, you count down the hours, even minutes until you can see your love again, or hear the sound of their voice. It’s an obsession, as all thoughts circulate around your lover, whether you’re brushing your teeth, getting the mail, paying your bills, walking your dog… you get the picture. When you’re not together, you get anxious, wondering what the other person is doing, if they’re thinking about you, or maybe they’re flirting with someone else. It becomes difficult to breathe, as panic sets in, and doesn’t abate until you talk to them again.
Anyone familiar with the mental imbalance, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), is probably sitting back to scratch their chin, thinking, “Wait a minute, that sounds familiar.”
They’re right. Psychological studies performed in the 1990s by an Italian research team headed up by psychiatry professor, Donatella Marazziti, discovered that people in love tend to suffer from a decrease in serotonin, just like people with OCD. Serotonin is a chemical in the brain that emits feelings of happiness and well-being. People with low-levels of serotonin tend to feel emotionally drained, sleepless and depressed. Sometimes they have difficulty turning off their brain and focusing outside of a single thought, obsessing over the minute details in everyday mundane scenarios.
Sounds quite a bit like falling madly in love, doesn’t it?
Imagine if they started treating love with Prozac, shutting down that giddy obsession that overwhelms and confuses the mind during those first few months in a new relationship. It could help lovers relax as they focus and enjoy the act of falling in love without all the fear and anxiety, but I have a feeling the romantic comedy film industry, as well as the love song and poetry markets, would suffer dramatically.
Well, if they can figure out how to do it, maybe they can hand out meds to teen-agers to help THEM cope with the stress of first loves, stressful breakups and the like. Just kidding really. I wouldn’t trade any of those memories for the world. Great article!
Excellent article. There is no way I would ever have wanted to dull any of those moments, ever. Those moments are when magic is made.
Great! Just great. Now we can treat “love” as a disorder, too.
Does no one else see the disaster this implies?
You hit the nail right on the head on both counts! Love the connection between the two, even though I’m one of the OCDers scratching my chin.
An excellent article!
Great article! Now excuse me while I go put 142 sprinkles on each of my 12.5 heart shaped Christmas cookies.
As someone who suffers from either an overabundance or lack of serotonin, it’s not hard to relate to the feelings you’ve written about in your article. Yesterday, I had an anxiety attack that nearly knocked me out cold, which goes to show you what a sudden lack of the feel-good chemical can do to you. The love aspect is definitely a good comparison to the whole feeling as well.
Great article Jenny.