Feb 14th, 2007
Crazy little thing called love
How do you know if it’s love, or if you’re just crazy? If you asked a neurological psychologist, they might not be able to answer that question. By studying brain scans of people while they’re in love & looking at either neutral images, or images of those they love (or were recently spurned by), scientists are discovering that there’s very little to distinguish love from mental illness.
“It’s not a good combination,” notes Dr. Fisher. “You’re feeling intense romantic love, you’re willing to take big risks, you’re in physical pain, obsessively thinking about a person and you’re struggling to control your rage. You’re not operating with your full range of cognitive abilities. It’s possible that part of the rational mind shuts down.”
The article also offers hints on how to rekindle the fire - do something new.
In one study, couples were assigned a weekly activity they both found new and exciting — such as sailing or taking an art class. Another group did pleasant but familiar activities, such as dinner with friends. Based on answers to relationship tests, the couples doing new things showed far more improvement in the quality of their marriage after 10 weeks than couples who did the same things every week.
source: Is It Love or Mental Illness? They’re Closer Than You Think (wsj.com)
[…] a lot of scientists are looking inside the brain for the root of emotion, others look to the […]