Healing the oxytocin response
How we're treated as babies can influence how our body produces and responds to oxytocin throughout our adult lives. Not having the right kind of nurturing as a baby can mess up our ability to love, mate and bond -- forever!
But there's a more important -- and more amazing -- pRt of the story Our brains can relearn this response at any age. We can heal at the most basic physiological level. And, I think, if we don't heal at this level, it's hard to really heal at all.
I think that because of changes in my life and things I did, my body and brain began to learn a healthier way to respond to intimacy. Sex and love feel good and right for the first time. I feel like scientists have uncovered a great secret of being human -- and this understanding can help us all.
Susan, I went back a few posts but I'm just going to go ahead and ask... What measures are you taking to heal the oxytocin response?
Posted by: Neurofreak (Daniel) | May 28, 2006 at 10:26 AM
oh, wow, that's the whole book I'm about to start writing. Depending on where an individual is, a psychotheraoeutic relationship can help form new brain pathways; so can neurofeedback -- and also, just consciously making changes in one's life and daily habits can help.
I think for me, I got to a place in my life where I stopped dating and having sex, bought a house, and focused on my home and my animals. I think there's some analogy to type 2 diabetes: If you stop tweaking the hypothalamus with inappropriate social interactions and instead add healthy ones, you can start to heal. Sorry if that sounds kind of woo woo.
But Daniel Schor in "Repair of the Self" makes the connections between neuroscience and daily behavior much better than I can.
Posted by: Susan Kuchinskas | May 28, 2006 at 11:39 AM
Are you doing neurofeedback? Are you supplementing with oxytocin yourself? (Still flipping through your old entries on your blog :-))
Posted by: Neurofreak (Daniel) | May 28, 2006 at 07:41 PM
I'm not doing neurofeedback, although I'd like to try it. Despite Berkeley being the alternative therapy capital of the universe, there's only one practictioner here.
I'm going to try oxytocin soon, but I'm more interested in healing from within, rather than dosing.
Posted by: Susan Kuchinskas | May 29, 2006 at 08:39 AM
I mirror your thoughts on healing within instead of with exogenous chemicals. I'm just an allaround curious guy. Anything I do is only in addition to my own daily regimen (high doses of fish oil, and neurofeedback).
Your recent comment on my blog inspired a good blog entry, so you should see it up very soon.
Posted by: Neurofreak (Daniel) | May 29, 2006 at 01:35 PM