On average, a psychologist does not get referrals from general practitioners mentioning 'lovesickness', although this can be prevalent through the language of what the patient feels. These neurotransmitters mimic the feeling of amphetamines. In the brain, certain neurotransmitters - phenethylamine, dopamine, norepinephrine and oxytocin - elicit the feeling of high from 'love' or 'falling in love' using twelve different regions of the brain. Scientific study on the topic of lovesickness has found that those in love experience a kind of high similar to that caused by illicit drugs such as cocaine. In 1915, Sigmund Freud asked rhetorically, 'Isn't what we mean by 'falling in love' a kind of sickness and craziness, an illusion, a blindness to what the loved person is really like?' An excess of black bile, the humor correlated with melancholy, was usually considered the cause.

In both antiquity and the Middle Ages, lovesickness was often explained by an imbalance in the humors. 1872, oil on canvas - Cinquantenaire Museum - Brussels, Belgium - DSC08548.jpg The Death of Dido by Joseph Stallaert, c. In the Middle Ages, unrequited love was considered 'a trauma which, for the medieval melancholic, was difficult to relieve.' Treatments included light therapy, rest, exposure to nature, and a diet of lamb, lettuce, fish, eggs, and ripe fruit. Dido's case is especially interesting, as the cause of her lovesickness is attributed to the meddling of the gods Juno and Venus. In ancient Greece, Euripides' play Medea portrays Medea's descent into 'violence and mania' as a result of her lovesickness for Jason meanwhile, in ancient Rome, Virgil's Dido has a manic reaction to the betrayal of her lover, Aeneas, and commits suicide. In ancient literature, however, lovesickness manifested itself in 'violent and manic' behavior. Lovesickness could be cured through the acquisition of the person of interest, such as in the case of Prince Antiochus. In the medical texts of ancient Greece and Rome, lovesickness was characterized as a 'depressive' disease, 'typified by sadness, insomnia, despondency, dejection, physical debility, and blinking.' In Hippocratic texts, 'love melancholy' is expected as a result of passionate love. The term 'lovesickness' is rarely used in modern medicine and psychology, though new research is emerging on the impact of heartbreak on the body and mind. Over time, however, these effects tend to subside, says Hullett.Lovesickness refers to an affliction that can produce negative feelings when deeply in love, during the absence of a loved one or when love is unrequited. But while they can make us feel blissful, they can also result in loss of appetite, inability to concentrate, and difficulty falling asleep. Could it be a stomach bug? The flu? Nope - you are in love, my friend.īut those butterflies you’re feeling aren’t unfound: “As part of our genetics as tribal creatures, we have chemicals that make life more pleasant when we are in a relationship and less pleasant when we are separated from our beloved,” says Joseph Hullett, MD, senior medical director for OptumHealth Behavioral Solutions in Minnesota.ĭuring the first few months of a relationship, the chemicals in our brains that get triggered include the neurotransmitters phenethylamine, dopamine, norepinephrine, and oxytocin - dubbed the love hormone, oxytocin is a strong pleasure and satisfaction neurotransmitter that helps two people bond, Dr. You can’t concentrate at work, and you feel lightheaded and dizzy.

You have no appetite, and you haven’t slept in days.

Love sick meaning