FOR long we have been reading and hearing love stories and folk tales such as those of Heer Ranjha, Sassi Punnu, and Sohni Mahival. All these characters, we know, reached the highest level of romanticism and sacrificed their lives in the name of love.
Poets and songwriters often say that love drives you crazy. Now neuroscientists also agree with this notion. They have unveiled the fact that falling in love in some ways is an indistinguishable form of severe pathology. Rather than calling it mental disorder they have given it a more precise term, that is, the obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Neuroscientists have pointed out that changes occurring in the brain when we are in love are like getting addicted to drugs.
In this respect, the question that crops up is: what is the OCD and how is it linked with the state of being in love?
The OCD actually is an anxiety disorder. The essential feature is the recurrent thoughts that compel the patient to carry out certain tasks, which is also the chief characteristic of experiencing intense love. In the OCD the afflicted person seeks refuge from anxiety by doing the same act repeatedly whereas the person in love gets immense pleasure in fantasizing and thinking again and again about his beloved.
Let’s take some hypothetical examples here. Jehangir is diagnosed as an OCD patient. He is obsessed with cleanliness. All the time he keeps on thinking about germs and probabilities of being affected by them which makes him spend long hours in the bathroom, washing hands and clothes. Similarly, Zeeshan is madly in love with Nosheen. Her charm constantly occupies his mind and compels him to wish to see her and to be with her all the time. This can give us an idea that in the OCD, and in when you’re in love, the brain gets stuck on a particular thought.
It all began in 1990, when Donatella Marazziti, a psychiatrist at the University of Pisa in Italy, started seeking biochemical explanations for the OCD. She amazed everyone by her interesting discovery. She found an astounding similarity between the people with the OCD and the love-struck ones. Interestingly, both the groups knew that their thoughts were irrational, yet were unable to control them. While studying the obsessive- compulsive disorder, Donatella Marazzitti discovered that levels of serotonin are particularly low in people having this disorder. She then set out to test the level of serotonin in the brains of people in love, and found out that the level of serotonin was also reduced to the same level (about 40 per cent less).
In another study carried out by two neurologists, Andrea Bartlets and Semir Zeki of the University of London, was aimed at locating the areas of the brain that get activated by romance. It was surprising to know that the areas triggered by love were different from the areas aroused by other emotions such as fear or anger. Love stimulates those brain areas which generate feelings of elation, and are also stimulated by many drugs such as cocaine to induce euphoria. In other words, love uses the neural mechanisms that are activated during the process of addiction.
Here one may ask that if love makes the person so much addicted to the other person then why do we get to hear about break-ups and divorces? In fact, there is a general observation that love marriages do not last. After a little while couples start fighting with each other. The most common complaint of couples is that their spouses have changed after marriage. They recall their initial phase of love as the most wonderful time of life when everything looked beautiful; but with the passage of time things started changing.
Take another hypothetical example. Bushra met Asif at university. He was two years senior to her. She fell in love with him. When Asif completed his studies they got married while Bushra discontinued her studies, as she found herself too young to cope with academics and household responsibilities simultaneously. Asif was a career-oriented person. He soon established his own business. He worked very hard, but at the expense of his family. As his business grew his official work kept him busy for longer hours and he started ignoring his family. At this stage Asif wanted his wife to help him in his business matters, but due to Bushra’s lesser degree of education and minimum business acumen, he could not take her to business lunches or dinners. On the other hand Bushra, who was unable to see that side of Asif’s personality before marriage, became frustrated. In desperation to gain his attention she started grumbling, which made him more distressed. He started avoiding her more and more and eventually after one year of their marriage they got separated.
Neuroscientists describe that neurotransmitters play an important role in causing such a behaviour. During the initial phase, falling in love involves the increased secretion of b- Phenylethylamine (PEA — or the love chemical). This natural drug creates a euphoric high or a feeling of elation and distorts cognition. It restraints a person from seeing the shortcomings of the mate. That is why it is often said, “Love is blind.”
Interestingly, the feelings caused by the PEA are very short- lived and when such feelings subside, the patient comes to his or her senses and begins to see his or her loved one in totality. If they are truly a mismatch and just were victims of neurochemicals like Asif and Bushra were, then the break-up is more likely to happen.
On the other hand if the couple is genuinely compatible, the increased secretion of the hormone called oxytocin, which is believed to sustain love, nourishes their relationship. Oxytocin is released through intimate contact of two persons, with or without touching. It stimulates the release of neurotransmitter called dopamine, which is related to addiction. Vessopressin is another important chemical, which plays a very important role in upholding long-term relationships.
All in all, with all the scientific discoveries about the brain, it is clearly evident that all emotions such as love, hate or anger are the result of changing levels of neurotransmitter or chemicals in the brain.
FOR long we have been reading and hearing love stories and folk tales such as those of Heer Ranjha, Sassi Punnu, and Sohni Mahival. All these characters, we know, reached the highest level of romanticism and sacrificed their lives in the name of love.
