LOVE HORMONE: What is it and how long does it last?

People live interconnected with each other, creating and breaking links with the rest of society almost daily. However, from the moment we are born, we develop a certain attachment to certain people, be they our fathers, mothers, our closest friends or our partners.

But, although we are aware of this union with them, many times we do not know that this is caused by a series of chemical changes produced by our own brain. That is why from Psychology-Online, we want you to know a little more about this hormone that allows us to create strong ties with those around us, allowing us to develop pleasant feelings towards they. We want to introduce you to the hormone of love.

Index

1. What's the name of the love hormone
2. Why oxytocin is the love hormone
3. How the crush hormone is produced
4. Functions of oxytocin
5. How long does the love hormone last?

The love hormone name it is oxytocin. I am sure that this name will sound familiar to many of you, as this hormone is responsible for inducing labor in women. However, apart from this function, it has many others, some of which are still unknown to researchers.

If it is true that it is known that oxytocin is responsible for making us connect with others, that is, the one that allows us to create the bond of affection with other people. In addition, it helps in the process of reproduction and lactation, so it could be said that oxytocin is present in all the different forms of love that exist.

This neurohormone is linked to the feeling of trust, that is, it is the hormone that allows us to consider others as friends and not see them as possible threats. This hormone has aphrodisiac effects and regulates all the emotional activities of the human being.

However, it must be pointed out that some studies also include the vasopressin inside the hormones of love.

Oxytocin is considered a very important hormonal source in motivation, since it allows a third coping response beyond the usual "fight or flight", which consists of on the seeking support, advice, and care from other people during times of stress.

In addition to being known as a love hormone, it should also be known that it is known as a care and friendship hormone, because apart from activating in front of those people to which we are attracted, it is also activated in those most stressful moments to encourage us to seek help from our friends and people from confidence.

This is considered by as the hormone of love mainly because it has the ability to produce in the person who releases it a feeling of well-being, relaxation and happiness when he is in the presence of a person for whom he feels a certain attachment bond. In the following article you can read the Attachment theory: types and development.

It has also been observed that during sexual intercourse, at the moment when people reach orgasm, the levels of vasopressin (in men) and oxytocin (in women), which results in a feeling / sense of attachment to the other person.

Oxytocin originates from the hypothalamus and is secreted from the pituitary. It is a peptide made up of nine amino acids. Within the hypothalamus we find a series of nuclei and specifically the oxytocin hormone is produced by the paraventricular nucleus.

The pituitary, for its part, is the main secretory gland of our body, also known as the pituitary gland. This is connected to the hypothalamus through the infundibulum. It is divided into two distinct portions, the anterior pituitary and the neurohypophysis. This second is of interest because it functions as neural tissue of certain nuclei, in this case the paraventricular, and helps the secretion and release of oxytocin.

Here is a list of the main functions of oxytocin:

• Sexual arousal
• Establishment of couple ties.
• Creation of maternal bonds.
• Increase of confidence and reduction of social fear.
• Increased empathy.
• Reduction of withdrawal symptoms.
• Preparation of fetal neurons for childbirth.

This feeling of excitement and attachment within a love relationship can be considered to have the same duration as the infatuation phase, so we could venture to indicate that it has a maximum duration of two or three years. It is at this point, where couples tend to feel a decrease in the bond they have created with the other person.

But, we must not forget that oxytocin is not only released in the bonds of attachment with the people we are lovers, but also liberates itself with those people with whom we share an affective bond, be it parental-filial or of friendship.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Love hormone: what is it and how long does it last, we recommend that you enter our category of Feelings.

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• Figueroba, A. What is it to be in love? The Chemistry of Love Oxytocin, dopamine, and other hormones and neurotransmitters are the keys to falling in love.
• Molina, Á. L. G., Velásquez, A. TO. R., & Molina, J. F. G. (2012). The hormone oxytocin: neurophilosophy of the social and emotional life of the human being. Uni-pluriversity, 12(3), 101-106.
• Moltó, J. Motivation and emotion. Jaume I. University Castellón. 2016