Love and other drugs: A cupid but in the form of pills soon to become reality 

Express News Service

Swallow this. There are new pills on the horizon that can make you fall in love or deep-dive into the inner recesses of the heart. They are likely to hit the markets commercially within the next three to five years and can be prescribed to struggling couples, according to Dr Anna Machin, an evolutionary anthropologist at Oxford University, the UK. Despite ethical concerns, the pill will be a reality soon, she said, while speaking at the Cheltenham Science Festival, recently. Referred to as ‘love drugs’, this is a new frontier in bio-engineering.

When all else fails, a love pill helps. The elixir of love and intimacy reportedly starts working within
five minutes of popping it, releasing a rush of positive emotions and the nervous excitement you may have felt while falling in love the first time.

The love-inducing drugs mimic the natural chemicals found in the brain. These compounds are responsible for that intoxicating rush of love you feel when you fall head-over-heels for someone. Four main neurotransmitters are at play in creating that heady feeling—epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin. Epinephrine creates feelings of attraction, norepinephrine and dopamine foster emotions of pleasure, while serotonin is responsible for attachment. Besides these, there is oxytocin, the hormone responsible for security, testosterone and estrogen that ignite lust, in addition, but not limited, to beta-endorphin which promotes trust and empathy. The love drug replicates the same functions synthetically, says Gurugram-based psychiatrist, Bhawana Satija.

A word of caution. The promise of love drugs comes with perils. “The love pills, like any other, have a shelf life. The positive feelings last only till the dose runs through your veins, according to Machin. This is problematic on two levels. First, the frequent peaks and troughs in emotions caused by the medication can make you dependent on it before you know it. Second, it takes away from the need for ‘inner work’ required to re-instate compatibility, without which, no relationship can sustain in the long run. When the drug does the job for you, you may not be motivated to break unhealthy behavioural patterns,” says Satija, who believes that even though the new love drug has its justified place on the shelf, it runs the risk of becoming just another mood-enhancer.

The other danger for consumers is the possibility of the ‘pathologisation’ of relationship issues by pharmaceutical companies that are notorious for ‘inventing’ diseases to sell their drugs. “The marketing of a new drug starts a decade prior (sometimes less) to hit the market. Because it is illegal to promote it before that, drug companies create a sense of urgency regarding the need for a new treatment protocol,” says Mumbai-based internal medicine specialist, Dr Dhawal Parekh.

Having said that, illegal psychoactive substances or love drugs have been part of our lives, but newer, improved versions, and most importantly, legally and commercially available ones, promise to thrust you out of relationship blues onto greener pastures.

The drugs mimic natural chemicals found in the brain, responsible for that rush of love you feel when you fall head-over-heals for someone.

Pros and cons of the love drug

Pros
✥ Quick action
✥ Convenient

Cons
✥ Affect wears off after some time
✥ May suppress emotions
✥ May not be regulated, causing issues of safety and efficacy

<br /> Swallow this. There are new pills on the horizon that can make you fall in love or deep-dive into the inner recesses of the heart. They are likely to hit the markets commercially within the next three to five years and can be prescribed to struggling couples, according to Dr Anna Machin, an evolutionary anthropologist at Oxford University, the UK. Despite ethical concerns, the pill will be a reality soon, she said, while speaking at the Cheltenham Science Festival, recently. Referred to as ‘love drugs’, this is a new frontier in bio-engineering.</p> <p>When all else fails, a love pill helps. The elixir of love and intimacy reportedly starts working within<br /> five minutes of popping it, releasing a rush of positive emotions and the nervous excitement you may have felt while falling in love the first time.</p> <p>The love-inducing drugs mimic the natural chemicals found in the brain. These compounds are responsible for that intoxicating rush of love you feel when you fall head-over-heels for someone. Four main neurotransmitters are at play in creating that heady feeling—epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin. Epinephrine creates feelings of attraction, norepinephrine and dopamine foster emotions of pleasure, while serotonin is responsible for attachment. Besides these, there is oxytocin, the hormone responsible for security, testosterone and estrogen that ignite lust, in addition, but not limited, to beta-endorphin which promotes trust and empathy. The love drug replicates the same functions synthetically, says Gurugram-based psychiatrist, Bhawana Satija.</p> <p>A word of caution. The promise of love drugs comes with perils. “The love pills, like any other, have a shelf life. The positive feelings last only till the dose runs through your veins, according to Machin. This is problematic on two levels. First, the frequent peaks and troughs in emotions caused by the medication can make you dependent on it before you know it. Second, it takes away from the need for ‘inner work’ required to re-instate compatibility, without which, no relationship can sustain in the long run. When the drug does the job for you, you may not be motivated to break unhealthy behavioural patterns,” says Satija, who believes that even though the new love drug has its justified place on the shelf, it runs the risk of becoming just another mood-enhancer.</p> <p>The other danger for consumers is the possibility of the ‘pathologisation’ of relationship issues by pharmaceutical companies that are notorious for ‘inventing’ diseases to sell their drugs. “The marketing of a new drug starts a decade prior (sometimes less) to hit the market. Because it is illegal to promote it before that, drug companies create a sense of urgency regarding the need for a new treatment protocol,” says Mumbai-based internal medicine specialist, Dr Dhawal Parekh.</p> <p>Having said that, illegal psychoactive substances or love drugs have been part of our lives, but newer, improved versions, and most importantly, legally and commercially available ones, promise to thrust you out of relationship blues onto greener pastures.</p> <p>The drugs mimic natural chemicals found in the brain, responsible for that rush of love you feel when you fall head-over-heals for someone.</p> <p>Pros and cons of the love drug</p> <p>Pros<br /> ✥ Quick action<br /> ✥ Convenient</p> <p>Cons<br /> ✥ Affect wears off after some time<br /> ✥ May suppress emotions<br /> ✥ May not be regulated, causing issues of safety and efficacy</p> <p>