Bonding causes the release of the chemical oxytocin, a feel good chemical that neutralizes stress, and helps you feel calmer, more focused, and more connected to others. Oxytocin is released when friends comfort and help one another, and also when a mother nurses her baby. Oxytocin counteracts the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol—the same chemicals that cause chronic inflammation, raise blood pressure, lower your immune system, and leave you feeling on edge. Biologically, men will produce the same release of oxytocin when they spend time with loved ones. But their male hormones, especially testosterone, negate some of oxytocin’s positive effects.”
According to a study done by the American Psychology Association in mid-2008, women were more likely to be affected by stress due to money and the economy than men. Psychotherapist Jed Diamond, author of Male Menopause and The Irritable Male Syndrome, believes the opposite is true. His reason? Men are more isolated and more likely to have a smaller social support network.
