The psychological side of love is an amazing, mind-bending, roller coaster of emotions, behaviors, and biological processes. Love is something we all experience, but it is not something we fully understand. These 7 meaningful psychology facts about love will blow your mind, and if you are looking for love these facts may help you find it!
What is Love?
Love is one of many strong feelings humans possess. It is both chemistry and compromise. It is universal to humans (everyone, everywhere can experience love). Although these statements are true in some respect, they may also seem mundane. They seem boring until you really break them down and give them life.
Love is chemistry - the actual biological changes that take place when we fall in love are amazing. The chemistry of love can relieve pain and literally break the heart (called stress-induced cardiomyopathy).
Love is a compromise - sharing a bed with someone is a compromise. Sharing just about everything you own with someone requires huge amounts of compromise.
Love is compassion - compassion is necessary if love is to survive and thrive. Consideration and empathy are important foundations for long-lasting relationships.
Love is universal - no matter where you are from, love is typically something people desire and experience.
Sexual Attraction
Sexual attraction may not be the only glue that binds two people together in a long-lasting romantic relationship, but it is usually a facet of romantic love. There are many theories and much research about how and why we are attracted to each other.
Some research-based facts behind sexual attraction:
- We are more attracted to people we choose to pursue and less attracted to those who pursue us.
- Body language is the number one way we attract each other (smiling, flicking the hair, eye contact, etc.).
- The pitch of your voice affects attraction, women with high voices attract more men, and men with low voices attract more women.
- We find people with more symmetrical faces attractive.
- Hormone levels, i.e., high estrogen levels attract more men, and high testosterone levels attract more women
7 Meaningful Psychology Facts About Love
The biology of sexual attraction, and theories on what love is only explain half of the picture. Human love is more than sexual attraction, and more than all the adjectives used to explain it. It is also a psychological condition. The mind is where love takes root. When we fall in love our minds change, and when we lose someone we love, the emotional pain can bring us to low points in our lives.
Some interesting psychology facts about love:
- Cuddling with the one you love triggers the brain to release oxytocin, and this chemical relieves stress and promotes a feeling of wellbeing and happiness.
- Seeing a picture of the one you love can lower stress levels, pain levels, and help you heal faster if you are injured or sick.
- Less than a second after looking at the one we love, the brain releases chemicals such as oxytocin and dopamine providing a sense of intense happiness and wellbeing.
- Kissing helps us choose who we love, and it is a big player in maintaining long lasting love.
- Long distance relationships work because partners talk about intimate feelings and thoughts more often and they seem to have a more idealized view of their partner.
- Love lasts longer when both partners are actively working toward self-actualization.
- Love lasts longer when both partners are actively working toward self-fulfillment.
