Going through a breakup and experiencing emotional pain can affect the physical body. It can lead to changes in eating habits, reduced motivation, anxiety, and depression.
A broken heart may not only increase the chance of depression or anxiety. Emotional distress and grief may also cause other health conditions.
Losing it in a breakup can cause emotional and physical problems, like anxiety and tiredness. Emotional stress can also send out a rush of stress hormones that make you feel like you're having a heart attack. That's called broken heart syndrome.
Going through a breakup can be traumatic. Similar to other traumas, like the death of a loved one, breakups can cause overwhelming and long-lasting grief.
A medically broken heart
Acute emotional stress, positive or negative, can cause the left ventricle of the heart to be 'stunned' or paralysed, causing heart attack-like symptoms including strong chest, arm or shoulder pains, shortness of breath, dizziness, loss of consciousness, nausea and vomiting.
It may be painful but we can get over it, in other words. It's not only the case that a serious break-up affects our personality; our personality also influences the way we are likely to respond to such a split.
Recent research has found that people who have recently been through a breakup experience similar brain activity when shown photos of their loved one as they do when in physical pain. Researchers concluded that rejection, and emotional and physical pain, are all processed in the same regions of the brain.
It is possible, real, and valid to experience PTSD after an abusive relationship. Living in a toxic relationship can take an extreme toll on mental health, and the negative effects of that relationship often last far after a break up.
Susan Edelman, “the breakup of a relationship can lead to worsening symptoms of post-traumatic stress and psychological well-being.”
When we break up, our brains lose their regular supply of these neurotransmitters, and we go into neurological withdrawal. This is how broken hearts break brains.
A break-up is a loss, not only of the relationship but also the plans, dreams and hopes you shared with your partner. Many people feel disappointment, grief, and a sense of failure when a relationship ends. Break-ups often mean a big change in your daily routine; this abrupt change can feel overwhelming.
They are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance, according to Mental-Health-Matters. These are the natural ways for your heart to heal.
They actually occupy nerve cell pathways and physically live in the neurons and synapses of the brain. When we lose a lover through a breakup or divorce, our brain gets confused and disoriented. Since the person lives in the neuronal connections, we expect to see them, hear them, feel them, and touch them.
Stressful life events, such as going off to college or breaking up with a significant other, can trigger psychosis.
Broken heart syndrome is a heart condition that's often brought on by stressful situations and extreme emotions. The condition also can be triggered by a serious physical illness or surgery. Broken heart syndrome is often a temporary condition. But some people may continue to feel unwell after the heart is healed.
Studies suggest that most people start to feel better around three months post-breakup. One study, which evaluated 155 undergraduates who'd been through breakups in the last six months, found that 71 percent start to feel significantly better around the 11-week mark, or around three months.
Some people describe it as a dull ache, others as piercing, while still others experience it as a crushing sensation. The pain can last for a few seconds and then subside, or it can be chronic, hanging over your days and depleting you like just like the pain, say, of a back injury or a migraine.
Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event. You may need to get professional help if these thoughts are making it hard for you to go about your daily life.
THE BREAKUP
The brains of people who've been dumped are "active in regions linked with profound addiction." withdrawal from the drug that was the partner and the love she or he offered. This explains the uncontrollably obsessive feelings so many people experience after being left behind.
Put simply, one of the main reasons you're not letting go of a past relationship is because you're lonely right now, said Erika Ettin, a relationship coach and founder of A Little Nudge. "Rather than pining over someone who wasn't right for you, focus on yourself," she said.
Luckily, heartbreak doesn't last forever. Your heart will eventually mend, and you will find love again. To help you reach the point where you can date and love again after experiencing a broken heart, we spoke to two sex and relationship experts: Todd Baratz, LMHC and Rachel Wright, MA, LMFT.
Heartbreak can trigger psychological shock, a very real condition. Heartbreak, like any other trauma, can put you into psychological shock, also called 'emotional shock' and 'acute stress reaction'. And emotional shock doesn't just cause anxiety, fear and a sense of unreality.