Why Do We Look For Love?

Being the curious person that I am, I had searched for studies done that supported the reasons why we look for love. Everybody wants love even though some may not admit it.

I desired to know the answers behind what inherently drives a person to subconsciously or consciously find someone to be with.

According to an article on boredpanda.com entitled “20 Interesting Facts About Love,” the fourth fact talked about how falling in love feels much like taking a dose of cocaine. Both experiences affect the brain similarly and trigger euphoria. It goes on to say that research has found that falling in love produces several euphoria-inducing chemicals that stimulate 12 areas of the brain at the same time.

In the same article, the fifth fact talks about how oxytocin is produced during an embrace or a cuddle with someone. The hormone appears in the brain, ovaries and testicles and is thought to be involved in the bonding process. It goes on to say that research has found that a dose of oxytocin decreases headaches significantly, and for some it even makes the pain go away completely after 4 hours.

That is insanely powerful that love has drug-like effects. No wonder people have such a hard time letting go of it once they find it!

Are we really all just drug addicted and our drug of choice is love? Maybe all of those songs that I have heard about love were right all along.

I kept looking up articles and information that would help me understand more of why someone would look for love.

In an article on thoughtcatalog.com entitled “50 Facts About Love That Will Seriously Make Your Heart Smile,” it mentions in the fiftieth fact that a 75 year study done by a group of Harvard researchers proved that love is really all that matters. It goes on to say that the participants in the study had lifelong experiences that revealed happiness and life fulfillment revolved around love or simply searching for love.

I have found that sharing your life with someone is meaningful and intriguing. When I would first meet someone that I was attracted to, I would be interested and intrigued to find out more about that person. When peeling off one layer, another layer would be discovered. It would be like cutting into a large luxurious cake that you are curious of what’s inside… a layer of custard then a layer of raspberries then a layer of cake then another layer of custard and so on…

There have been times when the more I learn about someone, I know that we aren’t going to do well together. Sometimes I have felt that the more that I learned about someone, the more intrigued I felt. I have also had to respect the other person’s choice to let go as well as he had decided that I was not a great fit for him. Each person has a choice.

Choice, decision and free will are what humans were given. We have a right to decide how we want to move forward. From the research and information that I had found, chemicals definitely play a part in love. The 75 year long study that had been conducted shows that there is a relationship between love and fulfillment in someone’s life.

From what I had found, I understand that this makes us all connected in our chemical makeup and desires. This is inherently the same. Navigating love and finding love is something entirely different.

We were not given a treasure map to find “the one,” but knowing that we all work the same from a research standpoint gives us a baseline to work from.