"Dopamine is often described as one of the brain's 'reward chemicals.' It becomes active when we experience something pleasurable or anticipate something rewarding. In relationships, dopamine fuels infatuation, increases energy and focus on a partner, heightens desire and excitement, and reinforces bonding through positive experiences."
"According to Dr. John Gottman's decades of research with couples in the Love Lab, successful relationships are built on emotional attunement, trust, and friendship-not just neurochemical highs. In Gottman's framework, lasting love tends to unfold in three broad phases: an initial limerence phase driven by intense chemistry, a trust phase in which partners learn whether they can rely on each other, and a commitment phase in which they actively choose the relationship over time."
"Dopamine is also sensitive to novelty and unpredictability. As a relationship becomes more predictable, those sharp dopamine spikes naturally decrease. Studies of long-term couples suggest this is a normal adaptation, not a sign that love is gone."
Dopamine, a neurotransmitter linked to pleasure and reward, creates the initial 'spark' and chemistry in romantic relationships by surging during early attraction and making ordinary interactions feel extraordinary. This neurochemical high fuels infatuation, increases focus on a partner, and reinforces bonding through positive experiences. However, dopamine naturally decreases as relationships become more predictable, which is a normal adaptation rather than a sign that love has faded. According to Dr. John Gottman's research, successful long-term relationships progress through three phases: an initial limerence phase driven by intense chemistry, a trust phase where partners learn reliability, and a commitment phase involving active choice. Lasting love is ultimately sustained by emotional attunement, trust, and friendship rather than neurochemical highs alone.
Read at The Gottman Institute
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]