Too Much ‘Love’ Could Cause Emotional Problems, Study Finds

Rebecca Lewis January 24, 2014

A growing body of research suggests that the ‘love hormone’ oxytocin does have a range of benefits to human health. It is even regarded as the magic bullet solution for labour and delivery pain, lactation problems, and anxiety. Lay literature also promotes the use of oxytocin to boost maternal bonding, sexual satisfaction and social recognition.

As a result, many doctors are prescribing oxytocin off-label to help patients with a diagnosed disorder, such as autism and schizophrenia, overcome mild social unease.

But a new study published in the journal Emotion suggests that oxytocin must be used carefully because too much of it can actually result in oversensitivity to the emotions of others. Researchers at Concordia’s Centre for Research in Human Development recruited 82 healthy young adults who showed no signs of schizophrenia, autism or related disorders into the study. Half of the participants were given measured doses of oxytocin, while the rest were offered a placebo.

Then, the participants went through an emotion identification accuracy test in which they compared different facial expressions showing various emotional states.

As expected, the test subjects who had taken oxytocin saw greater emotional intensity in the faces they were rating.

“For some, typical situations like dinner parties or job interviews can be a source of major social anxiety,” said Christopher Cardoso, the lead author of the study and a doctoral candidate at Concordia University.

“Many psychologists initially thought that oxytocin could be an easy fix in overcoming these worries. Our study proves that the hormone ramps up innate social reasoning skills, resulting in an emotional oversensitivity that can be detrimental in those who don’t have any serious social deficiencies.”

“If your potential boss grimaces because she’s uncomfortable in her chair and you think she’s reacting negatively to what you’re saying, or if the guy you’re talking to at a party smiles to be friendly and you think he’s coming on to you, it can lead you to overreact — and that can be a real problem.

“That’s why we’re cautioning against giving oxytocin to people who don’t really need it.” he added.

Source of this article:

Too Much Oxytocin in Ordinary Adults May Lead to Emotional Problems