Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community  

Go Back   Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community > Chatter > General Discussion


 
 
LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 02-14-2006, 11:08 AM   #1 (permalink)
Unencapsulated
 
JustJess's Avatar
 
Location: Kittyville
I want a love drug!

CNN Article

Quote:
Romance may be tied to reward system that can cause addiction

People all over the world describe falling in love in similar terms: euphoria, exhilaration, elation.

It's an intense craving for the person they adore. But just how does the brain process romantic love?

Anthropologist Helen Fisher, author of "Why We Love," studied the brain circuitry that makes falling in love the intense, passionate emotion it is. She found that the brain sees romantic love as a reward, stimulating activity in the same areas that light up when a person seeks any kind of a reward, whether it's chocolate, money or drugs.
Quote:
The participants were put into an MRI machine and asked to stare at photographs of their sweethearts and then neutral photos that called for no positive or negative feelings. When the researchers were able to look inside the brain in love, they said they were struck by the results.

The part of the brain that lit up the strongest was that associated with rewards and pleasure, a finding not nearly as poetic as romantics would have thought. It turns out that, to the brain, love is just another reward, much like chocolate or money, or like a drug to an addict. This brain system gets used every time you want something.

Romantic love, it turns out, is a reward, the researchers say.
Quote:
When Brown started the study, she said she thought she was studying a strong positive emotion.

"Now I have changed the way I think about early-stage romantic love," she said. "It's a motivation; the person [we're in love with] is a goal. Emotions come and go. We feel euphoria, but we feel anxiety, too. This core system that is driving the person who is in love toward their sweetheart, that is much more important in a sense than an emotion."
Quote:
Fisher agreed: "Romantic love is not only an emotion, it's a basic mating drive, and it's stronger than the sex drive."
Quote:
Although the early characteristics of romantic love don't last forever -- the pounding heart, the obsessive thinking and craving -- in good relationships they will transfer to a different level, a stage of love called "attachment," Fisher said.
Quote:
In her own studies of more than 800 people older than 45, Fisher found that they showed just as much romantic passion as those under 25.

In fact, romantic love can be triggered at any age. Fisher said she interviewed an 8-year-old boy who perfectly described his intense passion for an 8-year-old girl. She said she also knows couples in their 70s and 80s who are madly in love.
Whether you've got a sweetie for the day or not, whether you like VDay or not... Love is an interesting state. I think this article is right on, actually - who can argue that they're not in an altered state when they're in the first flush of love? *Everything* seems better when you're in love. Whether it is or not is another discussion entirely.

Have you experienced things this way in your life? Are you in love? Do you enjoy being in love? Any withdrawal symptoms?

I used to have a friend that told me they were addicted to being in love, the first blush of the intense crush... and kept breaking up with people once the infatuation wore off. Guess they never made it to the next stage...
__________________
My heart knows me better than I know myself, so I'm gonna let it do all the talkin'.
JustJess is offline  
Old 02-14-2006, 02:16 PM   #2 (permalink)
Insane
 
LazyBoy's Avatar
 
Location: Memphis Area
All love has ever gotten me is hurt...

But then again, while its good, its great....so its a twisted game of pros and cons....guess the weight system is in the eye of the beholder

-Will
__________________
Life is nothing, everything.....and something in between...
LazyBoy is offline  
Old 02-14-2006, 02:22 PM   #3 (permalink)
Gastrolithuanian
 
Giant Hamburger's Avatar
 
Location: low-velocity Earth orbit
Love is a symbiotic parasite that intertwines with your guts.
It must be fed or its coils tighten.

Chest bursting is possible.
Giant Hamburger is offline  
Old 02-14-2006, 02:28 PM   #4 (permalink)
Very Insignificant Pawn
 
Location: Amsterdam, NL
It's always been a one way street.
Love hurts and I have to avoid it.
flat5 is offline  
Old 02-14-2006, 02:32 PM   #5 (permalink)
Groovy Hipster Nerd
 
Jove's Avatar
 
Location: Michigan
Eat enough chocolate and you too will feel euphoric and elated.
Jove is offline  
Old 02-14-2006, 03:19 PM   #6 (permalink)
Getting it.
 
Charlatan's Avatar
 
Super Moderator
Location: Lion City
Quote:
Originally Posted by Giant Hamburger
Love is a symbiotic parasite that intertwines with your guts.
It must be fed or its coils tighten.

Chest bursting is possible.
This is a very good example of why I love the hamburger... it is the best explaination of love I have seen today.
__________________
"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke
Charlatan is offline  
Old 02-14-2006, 03:21 PM   #7 (permalink)
Junkie
 
Moderator Emeritus
Location: Chicago
Quote:
Originally Posted by Giant Hamburger
Love is a symbiotic parasite that intertwines with your guts.
It must be fed or its coils tighten.

Chest bursting is possible.
NOW that is COOL..

umm- burg... I love ya man... but -- we don't want to see home movies when the meatball arrives...
__________________
Free your heart from hatred. Free your mind from worries. Live simply. Give more. Expect less.
maleficent is offline  
Old 02-15-2006, 07:05 PM   #8 (permalink)
I'm baaaaack!
 
Yeah, sure, I miss the feeling that you get in those first couple of months- a flittery stomach every time he holds your hand- the feeling that you just can't have enough sex.

I DON'T miss, however, the wondering if you said the wrong thing, wondering if your parts are making too much noise during sex, wanting to ask or tell things but not feeling confident enough yet, worrying about coming on too strong, waiting for the phone to ring.

Its nice to be comfortable with someone to the point of having a great night with them just by sitting in the same room soaking up the other person's company.
__________________
You don't know from fun.
Rubyee is offline  
Old 02-15-2006, 09:09 PM   #9 (permalink)
lonely rolling star
 
sadistikdreams's Avatar
 
Location: Seattle.
Wow. That's actually a really good article.

It does make sense, though. I've always thought of love as a "drug".

And I've taken drugs to simulate the feeling of "love".

It's unfullfilling, doing drugs. It's selfish.

Love on the other hand, is something between 2 people.

I believe it's a feeling you can never top.
sadistikdreams is offline  
Old 02-16-2006, 06:21 AM   #10 (permalink)
Unencapsulated
 
JustJess's Avatar
 
Location: Kittyville
I like the euphoria feelings - for that reason, it's fun to have a harmless crush. But really, at the end of the day, I need me some Quadro time. Uncomplicated, quality, TV is awesome for a date night, Quadro time.
__________________
My heart knows me better than I know myself, so I'm gonna let it do all the talkin'.
JustJess is offline  
Old 02-16-2006, 06:28 AM   #11 (permalink)
Comedian
 
BigBen's Avatar
 
Location: Use the search button
Jeez, Jess, when you put it like that, I wouldn't mind some Quadro time either...

I love the feeling of the "Good Heart Attack". Can't catch your breath, can't see straight, can't hear. Heart pounding, mile-a-minute, everything tingly.

...sigh...
__________________
3.141592654
Hey, if you are impressed with my memorizing pi to 10 digits, you should see the size of my penis.
BigBen is offline  
Old 02-16-2006, 06:32 AM   #12 (permalink)
Getting it.
 
Charlatan's Avatar
 
Super Moderator
Location: Lion City
The cool thing is, that when it's right, you can still feel this way... even after 18 years.
__________________
"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke
Charlatan is offline  
Old 02-16-2006, 06:38 AM   #13 (permalink)
Unencapsulated
 
JustJess's Avatar
 
Location: Kittyville
Ben, I believe everyone needs some Quadro time.

Yep, 9 years and still mushy over here! It's disgusting, I know. Too bad.
__________________
My heart knows me better than I know myself, so I'm gonna let it do all the talkin'.
JustJess is offline  
 

Tags
drug, love

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On



All times are GMT -8. The time now is 04:11 AM.

Tilted Forum Project

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0 PL2
© 2002-2012 Tilted Forum Project

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360