Drinking The Oxytocin KoolAid
The Ex Files
You ever wonder why we sometimes stay in lousy relationships? We read about it every day here on the Bitchin' Boards. Some pretty smart, savvy women agonize about being stuck in
terrible relationships - yet they can't seem to leave. Their husbands are often indifferent, serial philanderers or even sick, abusive puppies, yet the women say they still love them, often when it's clear there's nothing left to love. These unhappy wives know they should run for the nearest divorce attorney, but something is keeping them in the relationship.
It could all be the fault of a tenacious little hormone and neurotransmitter called oxytocin.
It's been called the love hormone. The hug hormone. It could also be called the stuck-like-glue hormone.
Oxytocin is often involved during some very exciting times. It's released during orgasm in both men and women. It stimulates uterine contractions during labor. (Pitocin is the synthetic version that induces labor.) A baby sucking on your nipple stimulates oxytocin to let down milk so it can breastfeeding. And, this hormone can even make you feel more generous towards people.
But most of all, oxytocin is involved in pair bonding and feelings of love. In fact, you can't be in love without it. It's most powerful effects are felt at the birth of a child, when a mother and father bond with their baby. Oxytocin actually rewires both parents' brains so they will do anything for their precious little infant. Yes you heard that right. It rewires their brains.
When you fall in love, your body unleashes a flood of neurochemicals including oxytocin's bonding effects. You remember what that's like don't you? You're all gaga about the guy. He's Mr. Wonderful. And his sh*t, definitely doesn't stink. This is where that idea of love being blind comes in. Now some scientists believe that oxytocin is the key to monogamy and may be the reason that women are more prone to stay in relationships. Interestingly, oxytocin actually rises in women whose relationships are causing them a lot of stress.
