Psychotherapists explain the chemistry behind falling in love... and how you can use it to your advantage

There are so many ooey-gooey feelings that arise when you start experiencing the overwhelming emotions of love.

But what are those butterflies flying around in your stomach and the hearts floating in your eyes?

DailyMail.com had the opportunity to speak with Jordan Conrad, Founder and Clinical Director at Madison Park Psychotherapy, and Dr. Charles Sweet MD, psychiatrist and medical advisor at Linear Health to learn about what happens in the brain when we're falling in love.

Jordan explained that a couple of years ago researchers were able to gain more understanding of love on a neural basis.

'When you are in those early stages of love, a very primitive part of the brain - its reward circuit - becomes active,' he detailed to FEMAIL.

'Dopamine - the chemical that makes things pleasurable - floods the brain, inducing that euphoric feeling. Cortisol - which generates a stress-like feeling - gives love that urgent feeling. 

'When cortisol rises, serotonin - a neurotransmitter carrying messages throughout your nervous system - becomes depleted, which can further cause those obsessive thoughts about the loved person.

'Another chemical is the hormone oxytocin, which is released during sex and skin-to-skin contact and enhances attachment and causes people to feel satisfied or calm.'

Dr. Charles shared other hormones that are released when you first meet someone you are drawn to.

'Norepinephrine, or Noradrenaline, isn't as popular, but it plays a huge role in falling in love,' he told DailyMail.com.

'Its release ups your heart rate, makes your palms sweat, and creates that butterfly in your stomach feeling. 

'It's also tied to a heightened sense of focus, which can explain why everything about that person is easy to obsess over — from their laugh, their mannerisms, or even their smell.'

Now that it's clear how the brain works during a lovestruck haze, both experts chimed in about how to use that to our advantage.

Dr. Charles said: 'Intentional behaviors can amplify these chemical reactions. Shared activities - trying a new sport, traveling, or even taking a cooking class - boost dopamine levels naturally. 

'By creating memories together, you're reinforcing that bond. Physical touch [hand-holding, cuddling, or even eye contact] also stimulates oxytocin, helping you feel more connected.'

He added: 'Emotional vulnerability [sharing your fears, dreams, and quirks] activates the brain's bonding systems. This builds emotional intimacy, which is a key factor in long-term relationship satisfaction.

'Without knowing the brain chemistry, falling in love can feel magical. But it's really a series of predictable psychological and physiological processes. 

'Tapping into them with intention can deepen connection and help love grow in healthy, sustainable ways.'

Jordan detailed that when we're in love, our love-neurochemistry lets us suppress negative assessments of the other person.

'When people are in love, they tend to view the other person as more attractive, funnier, smarter, and more interesting than they would if they were not in love.' he explained.

'On the one hand, you might say that knowing this might be advantageous - you might try to counteract those irrational evaluations in order to gain a more accurate understanding of the other. 

'But that would be a big mistake. It is a good thing to have an inflated sense of the other, to view them highly, to be infatuated with them. 

'If it is healthy and within reason, that wild and infatuated feeling is a positive - I wouldn't encourage people to lose it, I would encourage them to figure out how they can keep it for longer. 

'Studies show that some people maintain that 'honeymoon' phase for years and years, losing only the anxious part of it but keeping the excited and intensely in-love part.'

Janet Bayramyan, LCSW, a psychotherapist at Road to Wellness Therapy, also contributed saying that if you understand how love works in the brain, you can make better decisions rather than ride the 'dopamine high.'

'You may make more effort to bring in logic versus solely focusing on the romantic feelings,' she revealed.

'If one person is more deeply in love, knowing this can help set realistic expectations and foster better communication.

'Sometimes people may take things personally if the other individual does not fall in love 'as hard' as the other. Knowing these nuances may help the individual not take things so personally.'