When we normally think about oxytocin — the so-called love hormone — we think of warmth, tenderness, and trust, the kinds of fuzzy feelings one might associate with walking on sunshine. In fact, oxytocin's considerable cuddle powers are why researchers are trying to bottle the stuff as a commercially viable nasal spray.
But it turns out that the hormone may also play a key role in triggering deep anxieties and emotional conflict, leaving scars that can last for years, if not decades. A new study by Jelena Radulovic of Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine discovered that oxytocin actually strengthens the social anxieties we get from intense emotional pain, whether that's being bullied in school as a kid, or getting caught in the hopeless spin-cycle of an abusive relationship.
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