RE: Is love real?
September 22, 2021 at 5:13 pm
(This post was last modified: September 22, 2021 at 5:40 pm by Neo-Scholastic.)
(September 22, 2021 at 3:59 pm)Angrboda Wrote: ...isn't it also possible that the idea of love is more a hook for explaining what we feel and do and experience than an actual thing? That love is more realistically viewed as unrelated emotions, behaviors, and experiences arranged "love-wise?"
Some people say that if you want to "get lucky" take your date to a horror picture because fear and arousal have (supposedly) nearly identical physiological effects, such as elevated heart rate, adrenaline production, etc. The thinking goes that the simulated fear response could be happily mistaken for arousal. Similarly, one thing that has helped me with my anxiety is learning the difference between fear and excitement. That difference is not found in the physical response of my body but in my external and often intangible personal circumstances.
Perhaps your body, i.e. the deepest and most ancient part of your brain, is giving you signals that are primal & strong but vague & ambiguous. Are your responses to prospective lovers signs of excitement or anxiety? How would you know? I have been married for more than 30 years. My current feeling of love is more of a deep admiration of her and the satisfying feeling I get from doing right by her.
<insert profound quote here>