Becki CrossleyHow far would you go to save your relationship? Well with the newly proposed ‘love-pill’ you might not have to.
‘Love pills’ could soon be available to help couples stay together, according to researchers at Oxford University. The pill that could cure relationship issues potentially contain the newly nicknamed ‘cuddle chemicals’ oxytocin and vasopressom, hormones that can be naturally occurring in high levels at the beginning of a relationship; pheromones, which trigger attraction, emotional response and testosterone to boost sexual desire. These chemicals all seem tolerable and perhaps not a half bad idea but it doesn’t end there.
The pill is said to also contain CRH (corticotrophin-releasing hormone), a chemical that is said to deepen the bond between two people (wait for it…) by creating a fear of separation. With elements like this, as well as low doses of entactogens, found in drugs MDMA and ecstacy, has the ‘love-pill’ idea gone too far to try help couples stay together?
By passing extra-martial affairs, the pill could help defeat the new highest cause for divorce, the simple issue of ‘falling out of love’. With the divorce rate higher than it’s been since 2003 and a third of marriages ending within 11-20 years of marriage, it seems statistically we may need a helping hand to stay together but is science the answer?
The research into the ‘love-pill’ was published in a study investigating how human brain chemistry affects relationships. Researchers Anders Sandberg and Julian Savulescu believe that a pill containing chemical blockers as well as hormone enhancers could be the key to longer-lasting and happier relationships.
Tell us what you think about this new ‘love-pill’ idea and whether you think there even can or should be chemistry behind the chemistry we as humans have for one and other.
