Page 17 - Seniorstoday June 2022 Issue

Love can be distilled into three categories:
lust, attraction, and attachment. Though
there are overlaps and subtleties to each,
and each type is characterised by its own
set of hormones. Testosterone and estrogen
drive lust. Dopamine, norepinephrine and
serotonin create attraction while oxytocin
and vasopressin mediate attachment. So
much for all the romantic notions about
roses, chocolates, perfumes, poems, love Then, there are endless songs which
notes etc. Imagine coming straight to the revolve around love: happy, sad, angry,
point and saying my testosterone is acting lonely, forgiving— all emotions seem to be
up, let’s reproduce. Or: my oxytocin and belted out in love songs, that’s what make
vasopressin are in need of balance, so them so popular. The lyrics are true from
let’s get married. Or: the hypothalamus the heart and everyone resonates with
in my brain is reacting very strongly to at least one or some love songs. For me,
your body not to mention the need for music and love are intertwined in a never-
pleasure and comfort, caused by dopamine, ending love story…
norepinephrine and serotonin, which are
all on overdrive, causing a compulsive need Here’s my pick of love songs that touch
for reproduction. my heart:
Perhaps the answer is, as Tina Turner 1. A Man and A Woman - Engelbert
asks above: Who needs a heart when the Humperdinck
heart can be broken? It’s a simple question
of lust.

Nevertheless, I still prefer the original
connection between love and heart and
all the literary and artistic (music, poetry,
article, novels, paintings, sculptures and
much more) connotations of love. The heart
is the first functional organ in the human 2. Where do I begin? (To tell the story of
embryo and the last, if it stops beating. It how sweet a love can be?)— Theme song
signifies the end of the journey. The heart of Love story
and the mind are intimately connected
and co-exist in synchrony. Emotions can
overwhelm our brains and our body. True
love rushes blood through our arteries, as
does anguish. They travel on the emotional
highway between our hearts and minds, in
a single beat. The connection is undeniable,
but impossible to measure and even
understand.

SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #36 | JUNE 2022 17