Love can be complicated to define emotionally as it varies from person to person, but it can be somewhat simpler and possibly more comforting to analyze through a scientific lens.
There is not just one type of love; in a study by Dr. Helen E. Fisher at Rutgers University, love can be categorized into three classifications—lust, attraction, and attachment—and can be one or a combination of all three. Lust is the desire for sexual gratification. Attraction is the energetic feeling of focus on one or more people that can be inspired by commonalities in interests or appearances. Attachment is the desire to maintain close relations with someone, which can bring about and inspire feelings of happiness and comfort. While these classifications can definitely go hand-in-hand, they are not all present in every loving relationship because each relationship has a different definition of love. Case in point: I would hope you don’t love your family the same way you would love your significant other.
So what is the reason behind those butterflies in your stomach or those later regretful decisions you made out of love? Besides that special someone, the chemical reactions caused by hormones released by your brain are to blame. The hypothalamus is the region of the brain responsible for producing many vital hormones that affect your emotions. Dopamine, essentially the happiness hormone, is responsible for feelings of pleasure and works as the reward system in your brain. In this case, it’s what makes you feel good, spending time with loved ones and being attracted to them. However, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing, as outlined by Harvard University. In addition to the other hormones, love can often come with irrational thoughts and behavior because of the effect of hormones on the prefrontal cortex, the region of the brain responsible for regulating emotions and thoughts. Dopamine is also linked to addiction, and, like drugs, love can be just as addictive.
In addition to all that your brain is already doing, your five senses are also involved in helping you fall in love, the most notable of which are sight, touch, and smell. The sight of a good-looking individual can act as a stimulus for attraction. Physical touch releases dopamine and oxytocin, two hormones that invoke pleasure and bonding between individuals. Of course, keep in mind that consent is important; as Dr. Philip Stieg, neurosurgeon-in-chief at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, said to Health Matters, “the sheer notion of touching that individual may manifest itself in feelings of disgust.” As for smells, the scent or pheromones of someone you’re attracted to can incentivize you to seek them out as part of your dopamine reward system.
With that all said, love is more than just what goes on inside your brain; it has more to do with your heart, figuratively speaking. It comes down to personal feelings and experiences, and there are an infinite number of factors that can affect love. Each person has their own definition of love, and it’s ultimately up to you to figure out if it’s more than just all in your head.
