When people say that love is like a drug, they're actually not far off. You know that infatuation state of a relationship when you can't concentrate on anything else but him or her? Or when you feel like you're going crazy and can't find your chill in between texts? Those are the results of a powerful thing called love, and as it turns out, the way our brains react when we're head over heels is similar to how they respond after using cocaine.

When we're in love, we experience a rush of adrenaline [1] and feel-good chemicals like dopamine and norepinephrine, which, in combination, can result in physical reactions like a racing heart, sweaty palms, and flushed cheeks. Experiencing a large release of dopamine will make you feel euphoric; it can impair judgment and even cause hallucinations in extreme cases. So that one friend who refuses to believe they're dating an assh*le despite what everyone tells them is probably blinded by love.

When researching the effects of love on the brain, Lucy Brown, a clinical neurology and brain anatomy specialist, and anthropologist Helen Fisher found that the way the brain reacts to seeing a photo of someone you're obsessed with is a similar response to being on cocaine [2]. Dopamine is also connected to the reward system in the brain, and we're left wanting more (whether it's drugs or a person) when the communication process is disrupted [3].

Interestingly, love actually decreases our serotonin (regulates anxiety, mood, and happiness) [4] levels in the early stages of a relationship, which is also common among those with obsessive compulsive disorder [5]. MRI scans have shown that when you fall in love, blood flow increases in the pleasure center of the brain — the reason we're completely infatuated with new crushes.

When all that eventually wears off and you become used to the pleasure triggers, you enter the next stage of your relationship: security. This is usually when the sweatpants come on and the nights out together turn into nights in. While you may no longer be ripping each other's clothes off every second, the two of you experience a new level of intimacy [6] that's more real than anything you felt when you were love stoned.