13 Jul, 2010 in
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Aftermath to a Romantic Breakup Is Marked by Withdrawal, Relapse, as well as Cravings By Reviewed By July 9, 2010 — Been jilted by your lover? Are you broken-hearted from being dumped? Researchers who’ve looked at the brains of the lovelorn say rejection by a romantic partner lights up areas of the brain that are associated with addiction, reward, craving, as well as depression. Romantic love may be linked to addiction in the brain, but it is likely to break the habit, though it’s not easy, says study researcher Helen E. Fisher, PhD, an anthropologist as well as noted relationship scientist at Rutgers University. The study was published in a recent issue of the Journal of Neurophysiology. Fisher’s team used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to record the brain activity of 15 university-aged heterosexual men as well as women who had recently been jilted by long-term partners, as well as who described themselves as still being “absolutely as well as very intensely in love.” The average length of the relationships was about two years. About two months had passed since one of the partners called it quits. The participants’ brains were scanned as they looked at images of their lost loves. Then each was shown a “neutral” image of a casual acquaintance of the alike sex as well as age as the former romantic partner for comparison purposes.
The results were cloudless, Fisher says, even though she as well as her colleagues tried to get the participants’ minds off their lost lovers by completing a clear math exercise that required concentration. Researchers found that looking at photos of former partners stimulated several key areas of participants’ brains much more than viewing pictures of “neutral” people. “The evidence is cloudless that the passion of romantic love is a goal-oriented motivation state, not a specific emotion,” Fisher tells WebMD, adding that the results showed that romantic rejection is a form of addiction, as well as those coping with these hurtful feelings are fighting uphill battle against a powerful survival system. “There’s a whole pathway that when you are rejected becomes activated just as it does with nicotine cravings or alcohol,” Fisher says. “These areas are associated with material pain as well as decision-making. Incase you’ve been rejected, you’re in pain, craving this person, trying to figure out what’s going on.” Falling Out of LoveFisher tells WebMD that rejection causes the neurotransmitter dopamine to wash over the brain, triggering feelings of frenzied desperation that can lead to behaviors such as stalking, homicide, as well as suicide. “You crave the person who dumped you,” Fisher tells WebMD. “You go through withdrawal, you can relapse, as well as cravings can be sparked months after you think you’ve gotten over it.” More pleasant news is that though it may take a while, the researchers say they found that the greater the number of days since rejection, the less activity showed up in the brain area associated with attachment. The imaging as well as showed that rejected lovers are trying to understand as well as learn from what happened, as well as the researchers conclude that falling out of love is a learning process. “Romantic love evolved to start the mating process,” Fisher tells WebMD. “Attachment evolved to help you sustain this relationship.” So what can the jilted do since there are no halfway houses for this addiction? “There should be,” Fisher says. “It needs to be used more seriously.” Her advice: “You’ve got to treat it as an addiction, as well as get rid of the cards as well as letters as well as don’t consult or write the person who jilted you. Don’t try to make friends with this person for at least three years. Get exercise, which drives up dopamine as well as optimism. One thing we found in the study is that time does heal. Don’t ruminate about what’s happened, because incase you do, you’re going to plummet into depression.” SOURCES: News release, Rutgers University. |
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