What is LOVE? Is love a psychiatric disorder? What is the chemistry of love? Does everyone experience love the same? Does love have a lifespan? These questions have been wondered for centuries, have been the subject of many works, but are still being answered. According to a poet, it is longing, existence, being us. For a painter, love is blue. According to a philosopher, "Is there such a thing as love?" is the answer to the question. According to a psychologist, love means being both normal and neurotic. LOVE is a word to which we cannot find the answer but to which we attribute many meanings.
Is love a psychiatric disorder? Brain and Nerve Surgery specialist Prof. Dr. Kemal Yücesoy defines love as a temporary state of insanity and mental eclipse. He stated that a person's visual appreciation occurs in one-fifth of a second, heart palpitations begin with visual perception and the process lasts 1.5 seconds, and when love begins, a feverish work occurs in the brain, 12 centers are activated at the same time, and this situation reveals the temporary state of insanity called love.
What is the chemistry of love? We can define phenylethylamine as the molecule of love. It is the chemical that makes us say love at first sight. When we encounter a person whose characteristics suit us, the stimulated brain begins to secrete phenylethylamine, dopamine and norepinephrine, and visual stimuli increase this release. Phenylethylamine is responsible for the cramps due to blood withdrawal in the abdomen that we describe as butterflies in the stomach, the dilation of your pupils, the feeling of flying and your smiles for no reason. Dopamine is also known as the "reward chemical" of the brain. The fact that our eyes cannot see anyone other than the person we love is the gift of this chemical. The insomnia, loss of appetite, talkative and enthusiastic feelings you experience at the beginning of love are the effects of dopamine. Just thinking about the person you love increases your dopamine levels. Norepinephrine is; It is responsible for your heartbeats that you cannot stop. Endorphins are the reason for feelings of commitment, trust and sincerity in the continuation of the relationship.
Does everyone experience love the same? The way we express love psychologically is the teachings of the society we live in. From their parents, their friends, and their own experiences, people learn who is attractive, what love feels like, and what love is like. They learn how the person who is in love will behave. In other words, as a result of teachings, they know how to perceive and interpret the emotions they express as love. That's why; Everyone experiences love differently. While some lovers experience love enthusiastically, joyfully and as an indispensable color of life, the way some lovers experience love is intense and obsessive enough to require treatment.
So, does love have a lifespan? Brain activity, which begins when we fall in love, decreases over time. Prof. Dr. Kemal Yücesoy stated that "the lifespan of love is determined as 2.5 years by both hormone measurements and brain imaging." He stated that hormones gradually decreased over 2.5 years. On the other hand, studies conducted in various countries around the world have found that divorce rates increased after this period. As Özdemir Asaf said, "I asked, 'Can you spend your life with me?' Is life enough to spend with you? said. That was enough for me a lifetime." The lifespan of love is as long as we feel it.
I wish you a life lived with love. Happy Valentine's Day.
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