Editor Quintus loves to talk about love. So, he assigned the staff write about it. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Katelin explains what happens physiologically when we crush.
By Katelin Slosky
Having a crush can be a wonderful thing. Remember the feeling of butterflies, the nervousness when you are around the object of your crush, or the fact that they make you smile? Also, having a crush can be a dangerous thing. Your moods are less likely to be stable; you may make irrational decisions because of them, and you will most likely feel much more anxious. Here are the reasons for these emotions.
Four key chemicals increase or diminish in our bodies when we’re in a state of infatuation:
- Cortisol: This is your body’s main stress hormone.
- Dopamine: This is one of the chemicals that makes you happily seek out pleasure.
- Norepinephrine: This chemical improves your memory and makes you highly excitable.
- Serotonin: This stabilizes your mood. A lack of serotonin can cause such things as depression or anxiety
When you have a crush on someone, your serotonin drops, your cortisol increases, your brain makes dopamine, and in return, produces norepinephrine. All the chemicals that make you anxious and energetic flow, and the one that keeps you stable ebbs–which explains why you feel jittery, happy one moment, sad the next, like not getting out of bed, and then like dancing out the door.
Love Editor: Quintus Ni
Leave a Reply