Holy Hannah, where have you been all my life, magic oxytocin spray??
A nasal spray to shed your shyness!
University of Zurich researchers have created a spray that can relieve people of shyness, and help them socialise with others.
The spray is very easy to use, and an individual can boost self-confidence just by squirting it up the nose.
The researchers say that the spray harnesses the powers of a feel-good hormone called oxytocin, a neurotransmitter in the brain that is involved in social recognition and bonding.
The mammalian hormone is produced naturally by the body when a person is in love, and it also induces labour in pregnant women. The spray contains a synthetic version of it, created in the laboratory.
I'm blowing my mind over here thinking of the impact this could have had on my life. Being shy isn't all bad, but it can be significantly limiting in meaningful ways. I've outgrown some of my shyness (not all), but NONE of my introversion. Oh sweet mystery of life, just to be in a quiet house w/ no phone and no commitments, alone w/ my thoughts (db and dogs okay)!
For all you extroverts out there w/ introverts in your life, I heartily recommend this fine article: Caring for Your Introvert: The Habits and Needs of a Little-Understood Group.
Seriously though, I can't get a hold of this stuff fast enough. I wonder how and who I'd be not being me. That said, does the world need more extroverts? Don't we introverts provide balance, some necessary evolutionary purpose -- like being quiet and careful observers of the world's unending wackiness and snarky commenters and sympathetic shoulders to cry on and introspective mooner-abouters? Yeah! The world does need that. I ain't changing for anybody, buddy!
[photo credit: ae @ work, wondering why work has to be so, you know, public.]
ae, having tried the spray one must ask: are those your cute little feet? You're hardly recognizable sans Spiderman flip flops!
Posted by: David | Thursday, 19 July 2007 at 09:38 PM
David, those are my 8 1/2s, and it's getting (sic) so hot now that I may be wearing the spiderman shoes soon! They do keep the toes cooler.
Posted by: arse poetica | Saturday, 21 July 2007 at 11:37 AM