Love is Your Healing Superpower!

My patient Adam, had been in a severe car accident when he was young. He nearly died of his injuries and spent several months in intensive care. He attributes his miraculous healing to the love of his friends and family who came to the hospital every day and spent hours at his bedside, talking to him, and holding his hand. Even when he wasn’t conscious, he was aware that they were there.

Love is your healing superpower. For all of us. You have the ability to learn how to use it, to draw upon it, and to have it become an incredible healing tool.

Here’s a little scientific information about the chemistry of love.

Cortisol, which is released from the adrenal gland, is known as the “stress hormone.” It is the body’s natural, self-protective response to stressful situations and fuels our “fight or flight” response (also known as our fight, flight, or freeze response). When we feel threatened, cortisol is released and sup- presses certain functions of the nervous system, such as aspects of digestion, immune system, and sexuality, so that all of our energy can be channeled into the brain and muscles and respond to the threat at hand. For these reasons, people who are under constant stress may have a weakened immune system, digestive problems, or low sex drive.

Our ancestors’ stressors were very different than our own. They were running from predators, and the fight-or-flight response was ideal in those situations. In today’s world, where we have an overabundance of stressors, our body responds to each threat as if it were a tiger, which means we may be producing more cortisol than our body needs.

Too much cortisol can accumulate in our system and cause inflammation and disease. Chronic inflammation (a side-effect of stress) contributes to cardiovascular disease, cancer, arthritis, and numerous other inflammation- based illnesses. It may also mean that you get sick more often, feel anxious, fatigued, or depressed, and can contribute to rapid aging.

On the other end of the hormone spectrum is oxytocin, also called “the love hormone.” It is produced and secreted by the pituitary gland and it is an amazingly healing hormone. Oxytocin is associated with feelings of bond- ing, intimacy, and attachment. It is released when women are in labor and when they are breast feeding, and also during sex for both men and women. Oxytocin is released when we laugh, when we hug, and any time we do something that makes someone else feel good. It lowers high blood pressure, reduces anxiety, and strengthens the immune system.

These two hormones work together like a seesaw—so when oxytocin production goes up, cortisol production goes down (and vice versa). Therefore, oxytocin naturally reduces stress. The more you laugh, the more you play, the more you help others, the more you love and feel loved, the less stress you experience. This is a scientific fact!

The relationship between cortisol and oxytocin also explains the rose-colored glass effect you feel when you experience love. You feel happier, less stressed, more capable, and more connected to other people because you are experiencing the love hormone in your body—both when giving and receiv- ing love.

Cortisol is not a bad thing—all of our hormones play an important role and we need them all to maintain balance. Problems arise, however, when hormones become stuck in “overdrive.” Our daily life is plagued with stressors that don’t kill us, but that our primitive brain perceives as life-endangering. Rather than being chased by lions and tigers and bears, we are chased by our obligations and expectations—getting dinner on the table, finishing that work project, making sure we’re on time, dealing with traffic—all of which our adrenals view as insidious monsters and respond by producing cortisol.These “dangers” are not even remotely life threatening, but our body creates the same hormonal response as if our lives were threatened. The antidote is to balance stress with joy, laughter, fun, and love in our life.

Giving our attention and effort to the good stuff (or love) helps us begin to feel better. So treat yourself, and treat your friends and family. Make a point of doing something every day that makes you laugh! Laughter boosts im- munity, decreases pain, lowers stress, relaxes your muscles, and helps prevent heart disease. Do things that make you feel good—make adult playdates, run around with your kids, have fun! By putting your attention on the sunny side, you will create more sunshine inside yourself.

The post Love is Your Healing Superpower! appeared first on Heart to Heart Medical Center.



from Heart to Heart Medical Center
http://bit.ly/2TVoHOX
Shiroko Sokitch, MD
February 19, 2019 at 12:25AM

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