Dow told me that "oxytocin is the bonding chemical… and the brain needs time to undo that bond." This is why he recommends going "love sober" for 30 days. The trickiest of the heartbreak neurotransmitters is oxytocin. Here's how to tell if you're really happy - and some tips to get you thereīreaking the bond: Go "Love Sober" for 30 days.It's bad news because it prolongs the connection that we have to let die. This is the oxytocin-starved brain inhaling the vapours of lost love. We all know *someone* who has stalked their ex's social media, riding every update like an emotional rodeo. The same neurochemical turbulence that makes us play fast and loose at the bar can also affect our social media habits. Mike thinks these activities also have a downside: despite the dopamine hit that draws us to them, they are not the best way to get over someone in the long-term. In short, substance use and casual sex are fun ways to spend an evening and a rich source of ribald anecdotes. These activities provide a heavy "dollop of dopamine" which hits the brain's deprived pleasure centres. But how we choose to replace them can determine whether we achieve a healthy breakup or prolong our misery.įrom his clinical experience, Dow notices that people who have just gone through breakups tend to drink more than usual and are more likely to engage in one-night stands. In this state, our brains become desperate to replace these chemicals by any means necessary. The real science behind falling in and out of love.Subjectively, the deficit in these chemicals can make us feel anxious, depressed, and isolated. When we break up, our brains lose their regular supply of these neurotransmitters, and we go into neurological withdrawal. Love (oxytocin) + pleasure (dopamine) + happiness (serotonin) = a heady neurological cocktail! The two other chemicals that he associates with relationships are dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward, and serotonin, which helps to regulate our mood and is associated with happiness. Relationships boost our levels of oxytocin, also known as the "love hormone", which helps us form bonds with others. Dow explained that romantic love releases a flood of feel-good brain chemicals. He thinks that subjective experiences, like having your heart ripped out and thrown in a melting snowdrift, can be understood in terms of the neurochemical sloshings inside your skull. We asked him what breaking up does to our brains, and how we can deal with the pain of romantic loss.ĭow's lens for understanding human psychology is the brain. Mike Dow, who's a Hollywood therapist, bestselling author of Heal Your Drained Brain, and upcoming guest on The Goods. We're not saying you're going to get dumped we're just saying it's more likely in spring that any other time of year. Simply put, embarking on an exciting spring fling often means leaving hibernation-partners behind. What happens when cuffing season ends? Springtime is the season of heartbreak, according to a recent analysis of 10,000 status updates on Facebook. Everyone knows that late fall is "cuffing season", that time of year when people choose someone to help them snuggle through the long dark months ahead.
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