So I picked up a book called ‘The Female Mind’ by Louann Brizendine M.D and so far, it has surpassed my expectations. I think the title does not quite do it justice because of how broad I find the ideas; it has also taught me a lot about the male brain in contrast to the female one.
I’d like to highlight two ideas highlighted in the book that I think have drastically changed my perception of the male and female brain.

“Males have double the brain space and processing power devoted to sex as females. Just as women have an eight-lane superhighway for processing emotion while men have a small country road, men have O’Hare Airport as a hub for processing thoughts about sex whereas women have the airfield nearby that lands small and private planes.”

I think it’s important to acknowledge that by virtue of our genders, we think and perceive sex differently so it’s prudent to be critical of these differences when talking about any issues with regard to sex, with or about the opposite gender

“Falling in love is one of the most irrational behaviors or brain states imaginable for both men and women. The brain becomes “illogical” in the throes of new romance, literally blind to the shortcomings of the lover. It is an involuntary state. Passionately, being in love or so-called infatuation-love is now a documented brain state. It shares brain circuits with states of obsession, mania, intoxication, thirst, and hunger.
It is not an emotion, but it does intensify or decreases other emotions.”

So the next time you can’t stop thinking about someone; whether or not they like you back, do yourself a favour and stop using rational thought to question how stupid you are for not eating, sleeping, showering or how emotionally distraught you are all in the name of what you think is the most perfect human being. It’s biological and most importantly, normal. Paulo Coelho in the Alchemist highlights this in one of my all-time favourite quotes: “One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving.”

Source: The Female Brain, Louanne Brizendine, M.D.
The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho.

Subscribe To Our Newsletter
