Heartbreak is an unfortunately common part of the human experience, and it really, really sucks. We’ve all been there, and it’s safe to say we all want to avoid experiencing heartbreak ever again.
We feel heart broken when we lose someone or something we loved or wanted very much, like a romantic relationship or a friendship, a family member, a pet, or a job or opportunity that was very important to us.
Though we may not know exactly why heartbreak affects our physical bodies the way it does, the effects are many and can be debilitating.
Sometimes there’s people who have had a stroke or heart attack from the stress of a breakup, who cautions that although these are extreme cases, they illustrate how strongly we experience emotional pain.
Heartbreak can lead to appetite changes, lack of motivation, weight loss or weight gain, overeating, headaches, stomach pain, and a general sense of being unwell. Treating the effects of heartbreak while allowing the person to mourn the loss of a relationship can be a tricky balance.
Depression, anxiety, and withdrawal from friends, family, and usual activities are some of the most common emotional reactions to heartache after a breakup. It can be a catch-22 because while we want an individual to feel what they feel, and mourn this loss, we also do not want them to slip into isolation, depression, and anxiety.
It’s not your imagination — there’s a reason nursing a broken heart can sometimes feel like healing from a physical blow. Some studies have found that our bodies sometimes respond to a breakup in the same way it reacts to physical pain.
Research has shown that regions of the brain that get activated in response to physical pain also get activated in response to a breakup. Whether we’ve broken a bone or gotten dumped, many of the same underlying neurological structures are involved. This translates to the conscious experience of being in pain.
One of the most widely recommended plans of action is to make sure you have a support network around you. Friends and family are your anchors here. Also, take some time to reevaluate the narratives you built up about the future, and how they’ve now changed. Much of the difficulty found in break-ups lies the way they force an ‘identity crisis’.
Suddenly you’re questioning all sorts of aspects of yourself, including your own worth and value to others, so some of this is also about working out how you now define yourself as an independent individual.
Finally, as with so many of the deeply, deeply painful things in life, know that time doesn’t necessarily heal, but it does help smooth and ease, and actually allows for growth and adaptation within your brain too.
