It's possible to stop loving someone, but when you truly loved them on a deep level, you will only stop being in love with them, but you'll always love them. That's actually the beautiful thing about strong, healthy relationships.
You may even begin to feel hopeless that your feelings will never go away. While it can be hard to stop loving someone, it is possible with time and effort. The love you feel now can change and evolve.
Whatever the reason, it can be painful to get over someone you love. You may be wondering, can you ever stop loving someone? The answer is yes. It might be difficult, but it is possible to move on and get over someone.
You only need to be patient with the journey. You will heal and move on to equally (if not more) fulfilling things in life. So, yes, it is totally possible to get over the love of your life. Maybe you're feeling empty after a breakup or struggling with unrequited love.
According to research published in The Journal of Positive Psychology, it takes 11 weeks to feel better after a relationship ends. But a separate study found it takes closer to 18 months to heal from the end of a marriage. In reality, heartbreak is a grieving process - and it looks completely different for everyone.
Therefore, a broken heart feels so difficult and painful to deal with. The person often withdraws in their shell and is pushed into depression. A person with a broken heart often has episodes of sobbing, rage, and despair. They may not eat or sleep for days and may also neglect their personal hygiene.
While it may feel impossible and certainly takes time to stop loving someone, it's absolutely possible to do just that. In fact, you may find that in no longer loving this person you open yourself up to the possibility of loving others — and even yourself.
So yes, it's entirely possible to never get over someone "if you don't begin to take time out to have therapy and understand what you're doing and how you're feeling," Mutanda says. Spending time alone and 'dating' yourself is so important after a relationship. You need time to be you again, she says.
Recently, it was discovered that, on average, people spend about 18 months of their lives getting over breakups. The good news is that, although it takes time, people are able to move on. And when they do, they leave behind lessons, actual, tangible, lived-experience ways to heal.
The “urge to merge” is very common, especially when a relationship is new. But loving too much can make your partner feel suffocated. Your partner is likely to think you are smothering them and the relationship is determined to fail.
You'll know that you love someone because you genuinely enjoy spending time with them and caring for them, which is different from liking someone simply because they make you feel better about yourself, says Miller.
Although it's not true that too much love will kill you, it can lead to unhealthy—and at times damaging—dynamics between partners. For example, love may cause obsessive or controlling behaviors in some cases. You may also reach a point where your needs go unmet because you're so focused on your partner's needs.
"It can take anywhere from six weeks to three months to forever, depending on how intense the relationship was, how invested you were in each other, and how heartbroken you are," says Jane Greer, PhD, New York-based marriage and family therapist and author of What About Me? (Those three factors all sort of piggyback on ...
The truth is that getting over someone takes time, no matter how long you were together, and no matter the reason that the relationship ended. Even if the decision was yours or if you know the breakup is for the best, it does not change the fact that breakups are painful, and you will need time to grieve and mourn.
This is an extremely common experience. The circumstances within the relationship, the feelings it evoked, and its breakup are not yet resolved for you. It's OK that you're not done grieving or processing the loss. Your reactions, regardless of when you have them, are part of the process.
Still, 21% of never-married singles age 40 and older say they have never been in a relationship. Roughly four-in-ten (42%) of those younger than 40 say the same. Never-married single men and women are about equally likely to have never been in a relationship (35% and 37%, respectively).
The feelings you had can still linger, even after the relationship has ended. If you still have feelings for an ex and/or still love an ex, don't feel shame. You are not alone, many people struggle to get over an ex and it may take a while because every relationship is different.
Studies using anecdotal evidence have indicated that long-term separation from a romantic partner can lead to increased anxiety and depression as well as problems such as sleep disturbances. Now researchers are identifying the neurochemical mechanisms behind these behavioral and physiological effects.
Several studies—both large and small—suggest they have a tougher time than women do when a romantic relationship ends. For example, a team of researchers at the University of British Columbia conducted a study examining the ways in which men seek, or fail to seek, mental health help after a relationship ends.
Some people report feeling physical symptoms, such as body aches and digestive issues. Feelings of guilt, shame, or difficulty concentrating are also signs of emotional strain. If you think “I feel broken,” you might notice these signs in your mind or body.
But men tend to go through some common stages when going through a heartbreak. Initially, they might withdraw from social activities and tend to isolate themselves. They can also become angry and lash out for no apparent reason. As they start to accept it, they might try to win their ex back by any means necessary.