But the love I want to talk today is romantic love. I am a romance writer after all.
How does a person know if they are “in love”? Can love be measured like our weight? Or be seen like a flower blooming? How do you quantify it to know? Science tells us that our bodies react differently to each emotion.
I think romantic love is more like wind. It can’t be seen, but we can see its effects. So what are these effects? Love feels different for everyone.
Science tells us that you might be in love if . . .
. . . you can’t stop staring at the object of your affection. When someone stares at something, they are usually fixated on that thing. So when the thing the person is staring at all the time is another person, they are likely in love or falling in love. Studies have shown that when two strangers lock eyes for a minute, they can start to have romantic feelings for each other.
. . . you trying new things. When you’re falling in love, you might find yourself trying new things you never imagined you would that your love interest enjoys.
. . . you feel a sense of euphoria. The brain of someone falling in love looks a lot like that of a person who has taken drugs. Both release dopamine into the system.
. . . you can’t stop thinking about the other person. When in love, your brain releases a hormone called phenylethylamine (the “feel good hormone” or the “love drug”) that creates the feeling of attraction. Ever feel a mood boost after eating chocolate? Thank phenylethylamine.
SIDE BAR: Chemical make up of love: dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin.
. . . you’re stressed. Being in love can causes your brain to release cortisol (the stress hormone), causing you to be a little more testy or freaking out.
. . . you want the other person to be happy. You’ll go out of your way to make the other person happy even when it inconveniences you.
. . . you’re okay with gross stuff. A study found that feelings of strong love can override feelings of being grossed out. So you might just let your love interest double dip.
. . . you don’t feel pain as strongly. A study showed that moderate pain could be reduced by up to 40% when participants stare at a photo of someone they loved, and severe pain was reduced by up to 15%.
. . . you love the other person’s quirks. Even if you judge someone a little harshly when you first meet them because of their quirks, you may later find those same quirks endearing. Quirks rather than just physical attributes can make a person fall deeper in love.
. . . your heart rate synchronizes with the other person. Although a couple might not be able to tell, one study suggests that when couples are falling in love, their hearts begin to beat in time.
Ah…that’s so romantic.
NEW!
THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT ~ A sweet historical romance that will tug at your heart. This is book 1 in the Quilting Circle series.Washington State, 1893
When Lily Lexington Bremmer arrives in Kamola with her young son, she’s reluctant to join the social center of her new community, the quilting circle, but the friendly ladies pull her in. She begins piecing a sunshine and shadows quilt because it mirrors her life. She has a secret that lurks in the shadows and hopes it doesn’t come out into the light. Dark places in her past are best forgotten, but her new life is full of sunshine. Will her secrets cast shadows on her bright future?
Widower Edric Hammond and his father are doing their best to raise his two young daughters. He meets Lily and her son when they arrive in town and helps her find a job and a place to live. Lily resists Edric’s charms at first but finds herself falling in love with this kind, gentle man and his two darling daughters. Lily has stolen his heart with her first warm smile, but he’s cautious about bringing another woman into his girls’ lives due to the harshness of their own mother.
Can Edric forgive Lily her past to take hold of a promising chance at love?
THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT is now available in ebook and paperback.
#ChristianRomance #HistoricalRomance #Romance
MARY DAVIS is a bestselling, award-winning novelist of over two dozen titles in both historical and contemporary themes. She has five titles releasing in 2018; "Holly & Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection in January, Courting Her Amish Heart in March, The Widow’s Plight in July, Courting Her Secret Heart September, & “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in MISSAdventure Brides Collection in December. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.
Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-three years and two cats. She has three adult children and one incredibly adorable grandchild. Find her online at:
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