When we’re going through a difficult breakup, we all wish there was a one-step solution to ease all the pain and anxiety we’re feeling. We look for ways to feel better instead of processing what happened. Alcohol can become a temporary relief. However, if we use it excessively, like it was a prescription for our broken hearts, the results can be catastrophic.
In 2009, Dr. Larry Young, an American scientist, shared a hypothesis that many thought absurd and quite disturbing, since it could lead to the end of humanity in the future. He stated that, given the pace of technology, scientists are reaching a moment when they might be able to create a “love potion” capable of making us fall in love forever.
The problem isn’t necessarily regarding the manipulation of love, but what it could lead to: a vaccine or antidote against this potion. This countermeasure could also make us incapable of falling in love, and so, our human need of procreation would eventually be lost. This vaccine could lead to some sort of “Brave New World” as the one Huxley imagined, or even worse, to extinction.
Through experiments with prairie voles –which are part of the few percentage of monogamous mammals–scientists discovered that when injecting oxytocin to female voles, they would develop a stronger bond with their male counterparts. Through this, they proved that biochemical chains can be manipulated to create the sensation we know as love, which means we can control the way we love another person.
Our brain naturally produces oxytocin. This explains why humans start with foreplay before the sexual act. Receiving or producing more than usual amounts of oxytocin can result in promiscuous behavior. However, the development of this substance in labs takes us down a weirder sort of path. Instead of seeking someone to fall in love with, these vaccines are being designed to make us more like the 95% of the mammals, which engage in sexual behavior but seldom create a bond with their partners.
Would you want a vaccine able to deprive you from all the emotions produced by love? Or would you prefer to engage in a relationship with the possibility of being hurt down the line? Happiness can be comparable to intense suffering.These two emotions are the most likely to be experienced during a relationship. It’s a matter of choosing whether numbing the pain is worth the peace of mind? Or if heartbreak is a necessary evil that comes with the brief instances of ecstasy we experience.
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I managed to overcome this deceit. Pain as usual, was just temporary. Now I can think about her without feeling hurt or angry, and the lessons left helped me grow as a person. I will always wonder what would had happen if I hadn’t had to endure all this excruciating pain.
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You might be interested in reading these books about overcoming jealousy or the difference between online cheating and regular infidelity.
Source:
NY Times
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Translated by María Isabel Carrasco Cara Chards
