Truth be Told

Did you watch Power this past weekend when Tasha told her husband to control his mistresses body to control her mind? Well I did and I thought it was a fascinating topic to discuss. Do you believe great sex leads people to make decisions they wouldn't normally? I thought it was odd that they added that line in there from a wife's perspective but it was definitely a whoa moment. When you're married
to someone for a while or if you're in a long term relationship, we tend to know that persons body and habits so well we kind of forget that great sex clouds the brain. To me that scene when the wife said to make sure he keeps his sex game on point sound all types of crazy but I got it! I understood it but it just made me think about some things.  Anyway... there is be a biological answer to help explain what happens internally during those moments. Do you find yourself all heart eyed emoji when you're having sex and you literally loose your logic or lack good common sense? Let me rephrase that... when you're having good sex? I know you have at some point. We all have! Now let's dissect what's happens just in case you happen to be living through that right now. Enjoy it to the fullest but remember to stay true to who you are at all times! Good sex can throw you off your A-game and that's never good.

The main players are dopamine, the reward hormone; prolactin, the hormone of satiation; oxytocin, the cuddle hormone, and levels of androgen receptors, which all powerfully affect our mood, our desire for intimacy, our perception of our mate, as well as our susceptibility to addictive activities and substances. These hormones can also have different but generally related functions.

Additionally the stimulant phenylethylamine (PEA) is involved, which is also present in cocoa and chocolate and elevates energy, mood and attention. PEA is produced in greater amounts when one is in love; conversely a deficiency (common in manic-depressives) causes unhappy feelings.

When we first fall in love we become bonded by rising PEA, oxytocin and dopamine levels When we are sexually aroused by close contact our dopamine level rises further and at the time of orgasm we have a dopamine brainstorm which one researcher compared to the effects of heroin on the brain. Dopamine is active in all addictions, even in people who have forgotten what sex is. Most of this activity is in the limbic system, the oldest part of the brain.

Orgasm is generally regarded as the ultimate goal of recreational sex. Wilhelm Reich was the first scientist to describe the nature and purpose of the orgasm as a discharge of excess bio-energy with the additional liberation of feeling energy, and he also recognized the negative consequences of blocked sexual energies.

Unfortunately, in addition to exciting peaks, orgasms tend to produce powerful negative side-effects that are only now becoming better understood. This is due to predictable trends in hormonal activity which seem to be similar in all mammals to ensure certain evolutionary objectives, especially the wide mixing of gene pools and the safe raising of offspring. This is achieved with the following neurochemical changes.

Well there you have it folks. Don't let a dopamine induced haze cloud your judgement on what's real in your life.  I sooo love that  show Power and I'm looking forward to the next episode. I also started binge watching a show from overseas called Humans which is a show about A.I. and I like it so far. I also started binge watching Resurrection on ABC. They're both really good and you know anything related to artificial intelligence peaks my interest. It's frightens me more and more lately. Especially when you hear these industry leaders talk about it and theorize about scenarios. Take a listen to Stephen Hawking as he goes into his prediction on AI. Mind boggling right??? Anyway... let me know if you're familiar with any of the shows or if you start watching them let me know what you think.