New Drug in Town; “The Love-Drug”

New Drug in Town; "The Love-Drug"

Ayiesha Perdomo, Impact Staff

 

Watch out there’s a new drug in town and it’s referred to “the love hormone”, “the monogamy hormone”, “the cuddle hormone”, “the trust-me drug” and probably so much more. Oxytocin has many nicknames because this naturally occurring human hormone has recently been shown to help people with autism and schizophrenia overcome their social deficits.

Oxytocin is a hormone, which acts on organs in the body (including the breast and uterus) and as a chemical messenger in the brain controlling key aspects of the reproductive system including childbirth and lactation, and aspects of human behavior.

Though often referred to as the “trust hormone,” oxytocin is increasingly being seen as a brain chemical that does a lot more than just bring true emotions out.

Research suggested that it plays a crucial part in enabling us not to forge and strengthen our social relations. It helps us to avoid number of psychological and physical problems we might have.

Oxytocin is a powerful hormone when taken in a large dose; causes your emotions to heighten where even the slightest touch can cause an arousing stimulation. This drug also acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain; it in fact plays a huge role in pair bonding.

As a result, certain psychologists prescribe oxytocin off-label, to treat mild social unease in patients who don’t suffer from a diagnosed disorder. But that’s not such a good idea because although it causes a pleasurable sensation and relaxes you, research shows that in healthy young adults, too much oxytocin can actually result in oversensitivity to the emotions of others to become erotic.

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It would be ideal to use the drug for its bonding method and coping mechanism but altering your emotions let alone tricking a part of your brain into fading out an emotion of yours is dangerous all around. And while the results are not exactly deeming, the psychological aspect of the drug does have severe ending results I mean think about it, this is the medicine that they use for people with social disorder or when women are about to go into labor so that they can cope better through the pain.

Today it’s target are mostly college students who are using the drug in search for a match, to keep their relationship alive, or to get over social difficulties. While right now this is the “it drug”, and no one is paying attention to the damages that this drug can cause, students should be aware that getting high with oxyitin comes with serious repercussions.

College students are becoming more vulnerable when it comes to drug experimentation. That moment of the “affect” is what they live for. The aftermath of oxytocin serves no importance to these students at the moment of curiosity. Besides showing that the hormone ramps up social reasoning skills, resulting in an emotional oversensitivity that can be detrimental to those who don’t have any serious social deficiencies.There are other implications of having too much oxytocin that are unclear and are still being under investigation.

High levels have been linked to prostatic hyperplasia, a condition that affects the prostate and may cause difficulty in passing urine. So before siding with that fact that it would be cool to have a drug that calms your nerves down during that final presentation, or when going on a date prevents you from being awkward, think about the aftermath and remember that with all good comes bad and the side effect of this “liquid trust” or “love hormone “can truly harm you.