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Cyndi Sarnoff-Ross is a licensed psychotherapist with almost twenty years of clinical experience in the fields of clinical psychology and organizational management br br She has worked extensively with a wide variety of…
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Women, Bonding and Hormones – How They Relate
Does getting together with friends lift your spirits? Most women will tell you that it does just that. Well new research has begun to show a correlation between bonding and Progesterone levels which tend to make people feel happier. It is intuitive to recognize that social interaction can have a role in one's mood but the physiological basis for this is fascinating. It makes seeking out close connections with others part of our primal needs and one that has many benefits.
Progesterone is a sex hormone that has been associated with stress levels and fluctuates during the month according to a woman's menstrual cycle. It had been established previously that higher Progesterone levels correlated with an increased desire to bond with others, but this new research shows that the act of bonding can actually increase these hormone levels. There is also some evidence that connects an individual's desire to help others, even at their own expense, to the increase in this hormone.
Oxytocin, the hormone we hear about so often when it comes to maternal bonding in humans and in other mammals, is difficult to measure. It is also responsible for this happiness effect and may be related to Progesterone in some ways. Progesterone, on the other hand, is very easy to measure both through blood tests and saliva samples. This has made the research, which was conducted at the University of Michigan, much more feasible.
Stephanie Brown, the lead author of this study said: "It's important to find the links between biological mechanisms and human social behavior. These links may help us to understand why people in close relationships are happier, healthier, and live longer than those who are socially isolated."
So often we see mood disorders associated with isolation and the disorder itself can make the desire to connect almost nonexistent. Even when the desire is present the energy and motivation may be lacking. Anyone who has experienced depression knows the difference between simply feeling blue and wanting the comfort of a friend and feeling so badly that it is hard to be around anyone.
The more we learn about how human interactions play a role in our overall physical health, the more clinicians want to help their patients find ways to achieve that human contact. Sometimes group therapy can provide the needed connections, when a person is truly isolating. Reaching out and letting friends and loved ones know that you want more contact and need help to facilitate that contact is another way to avoid isolation.
For those that do not struggle with mood disorders it is just a reminder that establishing relationships and connecting with friends is actually good for you. So next time you're feeling a bit down or stressed out, instead of turning on the television or turning inward, put on the tea kettle and invite a friend over for a chat. It may be just what the doctor ordered.
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I was just wondering if there are hormones that help with bonding or if the bonding is supposed to happen just because the baby exists inside the woman for a while. My boyfriend really wants to have at least one kid but I don't really feel that strongly one way or the other about it. Since I don't mind one way or the other I agreed we could have one. BUT since I am not even close to as gung-ho about it as he is I told him we should adopt because I really have no desire what-so-ever to go through a pregnancy and think it would be an overall bad experience that would negatively affect my feelings towards the baby. He said adoption is fine but I know he'd prefer for us to have 'our' baby. So my question is, is there some natural process during pregnancy to help me bond with the baby or is there a good chance that if I go through a pregnancy (since I don't want to be pregnant to begin with) that when I look at the baby all I'll see is everything I hated about being pregnant? I don't want to get his hopes up at all if I don't have some biological guarantee that my feelings won't be negatively affected.
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Being a man, I can say with certainty that men are limited creatures; we don't think the same--or as thoroughly--as women do, are controlled by hormones to a much greater degree, and, in my opinion, lack the same capacity for experiencing spiritual things.
I'll use myself as an example: I've been called articulate, but find it very difficult to express the spiritual dimension, not that I'm sure I even have one. Things that move women spiritually appear to just not register with me. I think it is part of the female capacity to recognize the spiritual that makes mothers the excellent and loving wonders that they are. There seems to be an emotional bond that women share on many levels; with their children, mothers, and other women, that goes beyond traditional explanation. For lack of a better term, I will call it "spiritual".
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But that being said what happens when you are diagnoised as I was with stage III cancer and everyone you THOUGHT was a friend deserted you. I had all the promises that they would be there and here I sit 3 yrs after being diagnoised and I've been through all my treatments and my so called friends are still NO WHERE to be found.
I literally have NOONE in my life. :( My lasts and best friend in the entire world was my Mother but she ended up being diagnoised with advanced lung cancer while I was going through treatment and she has since passed away. So I don't even have one person to call and talk to or anyone to go have lunch with. I have never ever felt so alone in my life. The one time in my life I could really use a friend I have none. People are so uncomfortable with someone that has been dx with cancer and want no part of it. People say at least I have the forums and message boards but its NOT the same as DIRECT contact with having a real life friend. Someone to go to the movies, lunch, or just call on the phone to chat.
Anyway...I agree with whats said...its so true. Anyone that has friends now I would certainly work hard to KEEP them. Always make time for your friends and family because you have NO idea how important they really are in the way you feel emotionally and mentally until you have noone.
Chelee
Left alone, I can only imagine .. where my mind would have taken me...
everyone likes your post dear thanx for this information.
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