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The feelings of falling in love can be euphoric, exciting and…nauseating? Yes, some people report feeling “love sick,”–that feeling of butterflies in your gut that takes over whenever you think of or are around your significant other.
Most people attribute those feelings to the psychological oxytocin rush of love, but according to new research, feeling “love sick” can actually manifest physically in the body.
A recent University of California study found that people can actually suffer from being love sick like a physical condition. The researchers took blood samples from 47 subjects over the course of two years and found genetic differences in women as they fell in love. They equated the physical reaction to the flu.
Newshub talked to Auckland University Medical Science Associate Professor Roger Booth abut why this phenomenon occurs:
“When you fall in love, you’re maybe going to get exposed to different infectious agents that you haven’t met before like viruses, so you turn up aspects of the immune system that will help deal with that.”
An Australian psychologist, Sara Chatwin, says the changes may be due to the stress and anxiety that comes with falling in love.
“It’s a degree of anxiety of not knowing what is going to happen next. So for some people they see that and equate that to feeling a little bit off or a little bit lovesick.”
Even though the study was small, Professor Booth told Newshub that the study is still credible. When compared with other forms of emotional distress like stress or loneliness, scientists did not spot physical differences in blood samples like they did with falling in love.
Another explanation, according to researchers, is that women’s bodies change to prepare themselves to become pregnant. Whatever the cause, it’s crazy to think your emotional health and physical health are so intertwined.
