A wonder drug that is 250, 000 years old
Oxytocin, a real cure for modern maladies
Today is Valentine’s Day and whether you are a lover, a hater or are completely ambivalent the messages are all around you.
Love is the drug.
But what if love wasn’t the drug? What if I gave you an alternative that is associated with love but has a whole lot of other uses too?
Let me introduce you to the most powerful driver of sociality and bonding
OXYTOCIN
Oxytocin is amazing, it has been found to have many effects on us, it not only solidifies our bonding with others it also reduces amygdala activity, increases our ability to be around groups who are not necesssarily our close partners and family plus it also reduces anxiety!
Oxytocin is also implicated in our ability to have resilience, which is not the race to the bottom and then the bounce back that is popular inference, but is actually the ability to have adaptive coping mechanisms to all the stressors that we meet in life.
There are no such things as bad or good stressors, stressors are all about the impact on allostatic load wihtin the body.
Allostatic load is the wear and tear that the body and its regulatory mechanisms experience in response to chronic, unbuffered stress. The systems that can be affected through allostatic load include the neuroendocrine, cardiovascular, immune, and metabolic systems.
Oxytocin mediates the impact and supports people to have coping strategies that are beneficial, not detrimental.
Low levels of oxytocin are correlated with unwellness, particularly within mental and endocrine health. Such conditions as anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, PTSD, anorexia, low mood, vasavagal syncope and tinnitus are associated with low oxytocin.
Increasing oxytocin levels as been empirically shown to reduce amygdala activity therefore decreasing anxiety and fear, and increasing calm and feelings of safety.
Oxytocin also improves mood, stimulates the vagal nerve which has amazing effects on the cardiovascular and digetsive system. It reduces the releasing of the stress hormone cortisol and accelerates healing, regeneration and renewal in the body.
Really interestingly it supports reduction of additions and also increases enjoyment of social interations by stimulating feelings of empathy, trust, openness and warmth.
My gift to you this day of love is this.
You can get this wonder drug absolutely free! No need to invest any money into anything expensive to get this miracle cure.
All you have to do is invest time and energy into it.
Oxytocin is generated through a positive feedback loop. This means that the more you are active in social and bonding behaviours the more oxytocin you will generate.
This is really interesting as it means that if you have had a period of non interaction or limiting human contact then you are going to have to use willpower and motiviation to do it as you simply will not want to.
Let me give you some exercises that you can do to stimulate oxytocin production
Look someone in the eye for at least 10 seconds
Have a hug, hold a hand or just touch for at least 15 seconds
Listen to music or sing
Talk to people whenever you can.. search for common ground, even when there seems to be none at all
Expose your body to extreme heat or extreme cold, as both these stimulate oxytocin production
Oxytocin is directly activated and controlled by vitamin D. Research shows that approximately 50% of the population is deficient in vitamin D.
The synthesis of oxytocin is also dependent on vitamin C, plus stimulation of secretion so make sure you get all of your daily requirments through your nutrition or supplements
Just a word of warning though. That excess of oxytocin can also lead to out group aggression, so you feel more like you need to defend your in group against any kind of danger! Watch out for that so you do not ostracise anyone who is looking to get some oxytocin production from socialising with you!
So there you go.
No roses involved here.
Just good old humanness and human activity.
Enjoy and give someone the gift of oxytocin this Valentine’s Day
The sex,” he said. “I just wanted to make sure that we were okay. That things were all right between us.”
“Well,” she said, “orgasm does release a lot of oxytocin, so I’m probably more fond of you than before.