“I’m busy.”
“Withnotschool?”
“Stop it.” Larissa laughed. “I like school. I like the world of academia.”
“Yes, but it’s not everything. Outside of your sister, have you seen anyonebutme in the past, I don’t know, week?”
“I’ve been to the library, so yes. I also worked yesterday.”
“I meant anyone you know and could have a conversation with; not people who are sitting at another table studying or pulling books off a shelf, or people who are paid to be there with you because it’s their job.”
“Well, I don’t need a lot of people around me all the time likesomeoneI know.”
Larissa lifted an eyebrow.
“I’m not some massive extravert. I just don’t like to be cooped up all the time. I can go out one night, but be totally cool staying in for the rest of the week.Youshould know this as someone I’ve lived with multiple times now.”
“Crashedwith, I believe, is what you called it before.”
“Fine. Crashed with.” Harlow laughed a little. “So, you, the person who has had no significant relationships in your adult life, are about to write a book about finding one? Why would I buy it? Why should I believe that you’re the expert who can help me find someone?”
“You’re not going to let this go, are you?”
“No, I’m being serious here. And you’d need that info before you publish anyway. Why should someone buy it?”
“I don’t know. It’ll be good? Maybe. Itmightbe good? I don’t know…”
She covered her face with her hands.
“Hey.”
Larissa heard Harlow move, and her hands were pulled away from her face.
“Tell me. Why are you writing it? Just talk tome, not the people who may or may not buy it, okay? I’m getting it for free, so I don’t even count.”
Larissa laughed and said, “My research for my degree is on the impact of cortisol on love. Can I get scientific with you for a minute?”
“Sure. Go for it. I probably won’t understand it.”
“Yes, you will. Just think of it like this: when you encounter a possible threat, like someone walking toward you when you’re alone at night, your hypothalamus sends an alarm to the rest of your body. With me so far?”
“Sure. That’s easy enough.”
“Okay. So, there’s this combo pack of nerve and hormonal signals that activate during this alarmed state. Your adrenal glands release a bunch of hormones, like adrenaline and cortisol. Adrenaline, in this case, would boost your energy by increasing your heart rate and elevating your blood pressure, preparing you to run. Cortisol is our primary stress hormone.When it’s engaged like this, it increases sugars in our bloodstream and enhances our brain’s use of glucose needed for processing. It also increases the availability of substances that repair tissues. Normally, the body’s stress response is self-limiting, meaning that once the threat has passed, like the person walks by you and keeps going without causing you harm, the hormone levels go back to normal.”
“Makes sense so far,” Harlow said.
“As your hormone levels drop, your heart rate and blood pressure return to normal, and your other systems return to doing whatever they were doing before the threat. But when the stressors are always present, and you constantly feel under attack, that fight-or-flight reaction stays turned on. That’s a problem.”
“I’d assume so. But why?”
“Because now you’re overexposed to cortisol and other stress hormones, which totally disrupts almost all your body’s processes. You’ll be anxious or possibly depressed, have digestive issues, headaches, weight gain, heart problems. The list goes on and on, but my research has been on the impact of high cortisol levels and other stress hormones in relationships. Not just current relationships, but the ones after.”
“After?” Harlow asked.
“Yes. Like, when someone is in an abusive relationship, there’s always a threat, which means their cortisol levels are always elevated. If they get out of that relationship and form a new one, how is that new one impacted?”
“And how did this lead to your book idea, exactly?”
