There's a great book you might want to read. It's called
"The Anatomy of Love & Lust" ISBN 0-399-14041-7
The author is Dr. Theresa Crenshaw M.D. and is published by Putnam. Very eye-opening!
From the back cover:Are you in charge of your love life?
If you think so, you're wrong.
Hormones control our sex drives and direct our love lives. In
The Alchemy of love & Lust, Theresa Crenshaw offers us a provocative depiction of the chemistry of sex -- how it governs our romantic desires, encounters, and relationships throughout the sexual passages of our lives.
The Alchemy of Love and Lust. Discovering Our Sex Hormones and How They Determine Who We Love, When We Love, and How Often We Love
From the inside dust cover:Are you in charge of your love life? If you think so, you're wrong. When you fall in love or lust it is merely an emotional event - your various hormones get in bed with you too. Hormones control our sex drives and direct our love lives.
In
The Alchemy of Love and Love, Dr. Theresa Crenshaw, renowned sex therapist and researcher, unmasks the hidden agendas of our hormones as we progress through different sexual stages, from adolescence through old age. A culmination of three decades of research and up-to-date information, this book serves as a guide to our sexual peaks and cycles, the desires that drive and frustrate us, the bonds we make, the love we give and take, and the mystery of attraction - aspects all related to the ever changing "sex soup" of chemicals in our bodies.
In addition to well-known hormones such as testosterone, estrogen and progesterone, Dr. Crenshaw introduces us to lesser-known potent influences such as PEA, DHEA, LHRH, oxytocin, and vasopressin. Their individual characteristics, as well as their interaction, with one another. Is there truly "love at first sight"? Do people become addicted to each other through scent and touch? Can we avoid menopause entirely? Which age groups are best-suited to form relationship? can we determine our romantic destinies by altering our hormonal profiles? Do sex hormones increase our longevity and the quality of life?
It's unsettling to think that molecules can manipulate our minds, and even our mates. But it's also liberating. These molecular agents operate with abandon only to the extent they are not understood. Dr Crenshaw provides us with the strategic information to identify their effects and gives us specific practical suggestions on how to modulate them.
Romantics needn't worry that science is going to eliminate the mystery of attraction. Just the opposite. This book will help us discover romance, rekindle it, and keep it alive. Filled with rollicking, sexy scenarios, as well as comprehensive (and often surprising) information.
The Alchemy of Love and Lust give specific scientific substance to the age-old discussion about the chemistry between the sexes. In so doing it makes us more knowledgeable alchemists, capable of leading sexier, longer, healthier lives.
"Dr Crenshaw has described a brave new world of hormones in a book that reads with the fascination of science fiction. It toches down like a tornado, scoring a direct hit on the politically correct edifice of the social construction of gender". --John Money PhD, Director, Psychohormonal Research Unit, John Hopkins University School of Medicine.