Every year around this time, my wife and I watch "It's Wonderful Life". I can't tell you how many times I've seen that movie. Watching it at Christmas has become a tradition in our house, like turkey dinner at Thanksgiving.

In all the years we've watched that movie, I've never teared up at the end (my wife always does). It's not that I don't feel the joy and happiness of the moment, I do, but don't get all misty eyed.

Well, last night, for the first time, it was different. My wife and I shared a laugh at my new found sentimentalism.

CK

I tear up when Bruce Willis blows up the asteroid in Armageddon... lol.

Every year around this time, my wife and I watch "It's Wonderful Life". I can't tell you how many times I've seen that movie. Watching it at Christmas has become a tradition in our house, like turkey dinner at Thanksgiving.

In all the years we've watched that movie, I've never teared up at the end (my wife always does). It's not that I don't feel the joy and happiness of the moment, I do, but don't get all misty eyed.

Well, last night, for the first time, it was different. My wife and I shared a laugh at my new found sentimentalism.

CK

I've pretty much always teared up at the end of that! I've also seen it dozens of times since I first saw it about 30 years ago. I usually save it for late Christmas Eve, though because it helps to put me in the mood just as Christmas comes waltzing in past midnight. Others I try to watch every year at the time are, "Miracle On 34th St." (the original with Edmund Gwynne and Natalie Wood), "Meet John Doe", "Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer", some very old Abbott & Costello Christmas shows, "Better Off Dead" (It takes place at Christmas!) and, on Christmas morning, "The Snow Queen" and "Alakazam, The Great" (which I haven't seen since Christmas morning in the early `60's and just found on YouTube a few days ago!!). I'm THINKING about adding, "Fast Times At Ridgemont High", to the list, too, because, it DOES take place at Christmas, too. Now, if I just had someone to share them all with.

I am almost 14 months on the NBE journey and have found myself to be more sensitive to my emotions showing like that as well I love it,I was fed up with being the Archetypical English male never showing being able to my emotions. It has been one of the benefits of taking PM that Jenny my wife adores.

I can relate to Julia Serano's description of how one's hormone balance affects emotions. This is from her book "Whipping Girl":

"People often say that female hormones make women "more emotional" than men, but in my view such claims are an oversimplification. How would I describe the changes I went through, then? In retrospect, when testosterone was the predominant sex hormone in my body, it was as though a thick curtain were draped over my emotions. It deadened their intensity, made all of my feelings pale and vague as if they were ghosts that would haunt me. But on estrogen, I find that I have all of the same emotions that I did back then, only now they come in crystal clear. In other words, it is not the actual emotions, but rather their intensity that has changed--the highs are way higher and the lows are way lower. Another way of saying it is that I feel my emotions more now; they are in the foreground rather than the background of my mind."

CK

Hmm,

I feel like I'm the odd one out here as I've always had an emotional side. While growing up, crying came naturally for me, people always said I looked guilty when I made a mistake and I was horrible at telling a lie with a straight-face. I've gotten better with compartmentalizing my emotions and not wearing my emotions on my sleeves, but I think that's more of a result of me becoming a private person instead of trying to fulfill some stereotype of a stoic and macho male.

The most emotional rollercoaster I've been on was due to depression and not NBE herbs. During that time, it seemed the smallest thing could make me cry and I was always feeling so horrible about myself.

I think what NBE herbs has helped with is changing select emotions rather than just turn up the intensity of all my emotions. I think NBE herbs has helped with making more patient, curbing sexual lust and making me more attuned to the importance of cuddling and other forms of non-sexual physical contact.

Heh, heh...I tear up at AT&T commercials... I have always been a softy.

My emotions have always tended to be near the surface, so much so that one time an ex told me to man up and quit being such a girl.

My emotions have always tended to be near the surface, so much so that one time an ex told me to man up and quit being such a girl.

LOL, I've had an ex tell me that as well. Seemed like a pretty selfish thing to say at the time to me, though....since I was always talking her down when she was flippin out. I think I told her to go home. We fought a lot lol

Anyways, to get back on topic...I don't watch much american tv, but I do cry at anime from time to time ;p

Then again, I've always been like that if I was truly engaged in something. Unless I'm in suppress all emotions robot mode I mean. That's the mode I use in public or around people I don't know well lol.

I think that PM has changed my emotional responses, but not like that book described it. In my case, it isn't the intensities of emotions which has changed, it is which ones can be intense. The range is wider now. It used to be that physical achievements (when weightlifting, cycling, playing ping pong at a high level, etc.) and things that made me highly competitive or provoked an angry response were the things that I felt most strongly. I still feel those things strongly, but now I also feel joy, pride in my family, affection for my friends and family (including the Best Dog In The World, regardless of the debate on title) and sorrow at the misfortunes of others more strongly than I used to. I do find I have less tolerance for fools (particularly the ones who choose to be that way for reason(s) I will never understand) and greedy bastards, and I am less likely to go out of my way for someone who has shown they wouldn't give a rat's ass about me or mine. In other words, I am still alive and changing. I am not sure how much to blame on the PM and how much comes with that time of life when things change in our bodies, but I do believe PM is involved in the changes.

And on top of all that, boobies!