Love

Talking about love is talking about one of the most important feelings for humanity. If
this were not the case there would not be so much music, books, poems, dances,
sculptures, and other artistic manifestations that talk about him. Defining it is almost
impossible because it also responds to cultural concepts; Love is not experienced nor is
it the same for all cultures in the world, and each of them manifests it differently. Thus,
there is no single definition that explains it.

The dictionary defines it as an "intense feeling of the human being that, based on his
own insufficiency, needs and seeks an encounter and union with another being." Many
people would differ from this statement because it assumes that to find love you must
unite with another, making it evident that the woman or the man are, therefore,
incomplete entities if they do not have love.

I would say that this assumption depends on the type of love we are talking about.
Whether it is a filial or maternal, family or friendship love, the truth is that these
relationships do complement us and fill us with joy, they make us an active part of
relationships and social ties and serve as a model for generating our own family
relationships in the future. Children imitate the relationships that surround them and that
is why they shape their own expectations of what love should be: thus, a child who
grows up in a violent home where parents abuse each other physically and emotionally
will grow up with the idea that this is how you must live the love of a couple. A girl who
grows up in a home where there is respect, dialogue and physical affection will grow up
with the expectation that this is how a family and a relationship are built, and she will
not settle for anything less.

On the other hand, if we talk about romantic love, it does not mean that not finding it, or
deciding not to get involved in a romantic relationship, makes us unhappy and
incomplete beings. In this regard, you only have to think about those who, happily,
decide to live their lives without getting married or having children. The absence of a
type of relationship that is, in the long run, a cultural agreement, cannot be an argument
to decide whether or not someone has a full life.

Just as everyone lives love in their own way, each culture imposes certain standards for
doing so. In Japan, physical displays of affection in public are not welcome and people
are generally very reserved about their emotions; On the contrary, communities of
Hispanic and Mediterranean origin are very given to physical and verbal affection in
public and private. In some people talk about love openly, in others only in private;
some greet with a wave and others with three kisses. In some, love as a couple and
sexuality is taboo, in others it is an everyday conversation. None is better than the other,
it's just that, like love, it is different and that is how it must be respected.
Is love a product of our brain chemistry?

The truth is that love is not just an ethereal feeling. Many studies over the last few
decades reveal that our brain chemistry comes together in the love equation. Apparently,
our brain chemistry is altered when we are in love, or feel love for someone, and the
same parts of our brain that are stimulated when there is drug use are activated. That's
why the phrase "love is like a drug" is not far from reality. In love, our system releases
greater amounts of serotonin, which helps us be happier and calmer, dopamine, which
motivates us and gives us pleasure, and adrenaline, which energizes us. These
neurotransmitter molecules rise when we are in love, but they also fall when we have a
heartbreak.

No matter the type of love we feel, the important thing is to be clear that our experience
with it comes from our learning in childhood and from the models that we had at our
side, and we tend to repeat. Keep in mind that the example that we had at our side
during our stage of development is the one that determines the way in which we relate
to family and partners and will give us additional tools to be able to cope with falling in
love, or if applicable, a sad breakup.

It is also important to highlight that for complete happiness you do not necessarily have
to live in a relationship. Every individual can find fulfilment and a rewarding life,
without needing to be married or in a relationship. If each of us could find happiness in
solitude, our relationships would last longer because we would not need others to be
happy nor would we blame others for our misfortune. Taking responsibility for our
emotions is also a key to finding healthy and lasting love.

Lorett Alix

Bibliography
https://www.aboutespanol.com/el-amor-k2879577
https://www.significados.com/amor/
https://quierocuidarme.dkv.es/ocio-y-bienestar/tipos-de-amor-cuales-son-y-de-que-
dependen
https://www.salud.mapfre.es/cuerpo-y-mente/psicologia/quimica-del-amor/#:~:text=Por
%20mucho%20que%20lo%20representemos,activan%20los%20circuitos%20de
%20autorrecompensa.