Kittenzen: Endogenous Ligands

I have been reading a book called The Molecules of Emotion by Candace Pert. In the early '70s she discovered the opiate receptor in our bodies. Receptors exist on cells throughout our bodies and they are like keyholes waiting for a key, called a ligand (from the Latin ligare, "to bind"), to open them up and give information to the cell so that the cell can do something, such as get excited or feel pleasure or not feel pain. Not long after her discovery someone else discovered the endogenous (within the body) ligand that attaches to the opiate receptor: endorphin (which means endogenous morphine, or morphine made within the body). So within our own bodies we have a substance that, like morphine, can inhibit pain and cause pleasure. Certain things we do in our lives release these endorphins, and they can and perhaps even should become addictive: things like running, yoga, walking in nature, making & listening to music, deep breathing.

But according to Pert, the single most powerful source of endorphins is genuine connection to others, love. Nothing creates as much pleasure as connection to each other and to our creatures. Petting our cats, listening to their purring, having them on our laps releases endorphins within our bodies, calms us down, makes us feel good. The more of these endogenous ligands our body produces, the healthier it will be, too.

Pert also said in a CD series that I am listening to called The Body is the Subconscious Mind that shared traumatic events can function to bond us closer together. She gave the example of the trauma of being born that releases certain ligands in the mother and the child that bond them.  Recently Jane has been sick with vomiting and diarrhea and I have taken her to the vet a few times now. During this stressful time Jane has become my shadow and is on my lap as often as possible during the day or sleeping next to me at night. What comfort we both derive and the endorphins that are released are, I think, helping her recover.

Mark and I are watching a program online called In Treatment about a therapist (played by Gabriel Byrne) and his sessions with his patients. In one session the therapist recalls something one of his professors said, that in our culture maturity is measured by our ability not to show emotion and not to feel too deeply--no crying, no anger, no grief and even too much joy is suspect. What a travesty, especially when our entire body is made of of cells that are constantly vibrating with emotions (from the Latin movere "to move").