Love is a powerful feeling that keeps you anchored and committed to your partner. It’s also an emotional connection that can affect your mental health and future relationships. From an evolutionary psychology perspective, love evolved to keep parents and their children bonded and motivated to care for one another.
When you love someone, it means that you care about their happiness and well-being. You may want to help them overcome a difficult obstacle or celebrate their successes. This is the type of love that can lead to healthy, long-term relationships. It can also reduce the risk of mental health issues such as depression.
Interestingly, psychologists only started studying love as a distinct emotion in the last 75 years. In the beginning, they simply observed and described how people felt. They broke down the emotions into several types of love, including romantic, companionate, and unrequited love. Then, Sternberg defined a set of three components of love — intimacy, passion, and commitment. This led to seven different types of love.
There is debate about whether love is a basic human emotion or if it is influenced by culture. Scientists have found that if you are madly in love, there is a surge of activity in parts of your brain associated with reward and focus. This is similar to the rush of euphoria that occurs when you take cocaine.
However, it’s important to remember that love is a 2-way street. You have to play your part by being your best self and living your best life. This includes taking care of your body, mind, and spirit. You should also avoid toxic relationships that can leave you feeling depressed, anxious, or disappointed.