Dr. Martin Hash Podcast

Love is real; at least the genetically-programmed infatuation kind that causes young boy's hearts to ache & their faces to color when the Little Red-Haired Girl is close. I certainly experienced it when I was younger, the thing we call romantic love but is obviously raging hormones. I felt that way about my wife as a teenager, and when we're apart for a long time, it even happens now. Eventually, that kind of love dissipates, and most people find mature love: a selfless devotion to someone for no particular reason, without any compensation, even a willingness to sacrifice your life for them.

Besides the evolutionary need for love, so that two people will remain together to raise children, there is also a very personal benefit. The world is a complicated & dangerous place, and the stress that causes in the human body through the release of the hormone cortisol is unhealthy. Though stress allows you to escape a bear, it actually damages the brain in the long term. To reduce stress, humans need daily routine & predictability in their lives, and a close partner provides that stability. The comfortable rhythm of domestication acts as a bulwark against an overwhelming outside world, from which you return to the secure, relaxing, calming embrace of your lover.