Gabriella Vasquez

Mrs. Lloyd
Period 4
April 6, 2018
Is New Love Dangerous?
New love is dangerous because the part of the brain affected by love is also affected by

cravings or addictions and new love can strongly control one’s emotions and actions.

Researchers conducted brain scans to see how new love affects neural activity. They took M.R.I.

scans of people’s brains when they were looking at a picture of their beloved and when they

were not. What the results showed was surprising. In an article featured in The New York Times,

Benedict Carey wrote about this experiment and its findings. Carey stated, “[Passionate Love] is

closer in its neural profile to drives like hunger, thirst, or drug cravings, the researchers assert,

than to emotional states like excitement or affection” (Carey). He is saying that these New

York/New Jersey researchers have found that one’s body and brain can actually depend on love

just like they would depend on food and water. These cravings during new love which were

compared to drug addiction can be very dangerous for people mentally. Another example that

proves that new love is dangerous can be found in the classic story of “Romeo and Juliet”. These

star-crossed lovers had only known each other for a few days before they married and died for

each other. When Romeo was exiled from Verona, Juliet was forced to marry Paris. Juliet was so

overwhelmed with her feelings for Romeo that she said to Friar Laurence, “And with this knife

I’ll help it presently [she shows him her knife]. God joined my heart and Romeo’s, thou our

hands; and ere this hand, by thee to Romeo’s sealed” (Act 4, Scene 1, Lines 55-57). During this

scene, Juliet is so devastated that she cannot be with her love of only a few days, that she is

willing to kill herself. This new love affected her emotions, actions, and her brain chemistry.

Love can be a beautiful thing, but new love can affect our behaviors, feelings, and life, which

can be dangerous.