Reaching out to other people during a stressful event is an effective way to boost your mood and the hormone oxytocin may help you accomplish just that, a new study has found.
Researchers at Concordia University in Canada are taking a closer look at oxytocin, a hormone traditionally studied for its role in childbirth and breastfeeding, and more recently for its effect on social behaviour.
The latest study by Mark Ellenbogen and Christopher Cardoso, published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology, shows that oxytocin can increase a person's trust in others following social rejection.
Ellenbogen explained that it means that instead of the traditional 'fight or flight' response to social conflict where people get revved up to respond to a challenge or run away from it, oxytocin may promote the 'tend and befriend' response where people reach out to others for support after a stressful event.
"That can, in turn, strengthen social bonds and may be a healthier way to cope," he said.
In a double-blind experiment, 100 students were administered either oxytocin or a placebo via a nasal spray, then subjected to social rejection.
In a conversation that was staged to simulate real life, researchers posing as students disagreed with, interrupted and ignored the unsuspecting participants.
Using mood and personality questionnaires, the data showed that participants who were particularly distressed after being snubbed by the researchers reported greater trust in other people if they sniffed oxytocin prior to the event, but not if they sniffed the placebo.
In contrast, oxytocin had no effect on trust in those who were not emotionally affected by social rejection.
Cardoso said that studying oxytocin may provide future options for those who suffer from mental health conditions characterised by high levels of stress and low levels of social support, like depression.
"If someone is feeling very distressed, oxytocin could promote social support seeking, and that may be especially helpful to those individuals," he said, noting that people with depression tend to naturally withdraw even though reaching out to social support systems can alleviate depression and facilitate recovery.
"The next phase of research will begin to study oxytocin's effects in those who are at high risk for developing clinical depression," said Ellenbogen.
"Previous studies have shown that natural oxytocin is higher in distressed people, but before this study nobody could say with certainty why that was the case," Cardoso said.
"In distressed people, oxytocin may improve one's motivation to reach out to others for support. That idea is cause for a certain degree of excitement, both in the research community and for those who suffer from mood disorders," he said.
