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.
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. Heartbreak can cause a large amount of stress, especially if the loss is a sudden one.
The most common signs and symptoms of broken heart syndrome are angina (chest pain) and shortness of breath. You can experience these things even if you have no history of heart disease. Arrhythmias (abnormal heartbeats) or cardiogenic shock also may occur with broken heart syndrome.
The condition is better known as broken heart syndrome. Researchers have confirmed in recent years what people long suspected: Extreme stress can literally break your heart.
When looking at the timeline of breakups, many sites refer to a “study” that's actually a consumer poll a market research company conducted on behalf of Yelp. The poll's results suggest it takes an average of about 3.5 months to heal, while recovering after divorce might take closer to 1.5 years, if not longer.
Stress from grief can flood the body with hormones, specifically cortisol, which causes that heavy-achy-feeling you get in your chest area. The heartache that comes with depression can increase the likelihood of a heart attack.
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.
Getting your heart broken can damage the way your heart functions forever, proving that - for some people - time is not actually the greatest healer.
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.
People call it “broken heart syndrome,” and it's real. Losing a loved one can be emotionally devastating. It's rare, but sometimes an overwhelming loss can affect physical health, including the heart, too. Luckily, doctors can treat most cases, if you know what to look out for.
They are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance, according to Mental-Health-Matters. These are the natural ways for your heart to heal.
"We see changes in our heart rate and blood pressure, we release more stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, our blood gets a bit stickier, our immune system can be a bit vulnerable and our sleep can be disturbed."
During a breakup, your brain can experience deep anxiety.
The impact of the breakup is something the brain doesn't know how to process. This neurological situation translates into physical pain, exhaustion, and low energy.
Part of this is because, to your brain, heartbreak also behaves a lot like withdrawal. So, Heartbreak depression is real. It's called “situational depression”, as opposed to clinical depression, though it often shares the same symptoms.
Seek professional help
It's important to talk about your feelings with others and not numb yourself out. This is easier said than done, and it's totally normal to need some extra help. If you find that your grief is too much to bear on your own, a mental health professional can help you work through painful emotions.
Loving someone so much it hurts can often mean that you fail to see things you might be doing to push that person away. Generally, these missteps aren't recognized until the break-up, and then the life lessons are learned.
Separation, even a temporary absence, from the people you have a deep emotional connection with can cause sorrow because you will no longer be able to enjoy their company. Temporary goodbyes are less sorrowful than longer goodbyes or the emotionally devastating end of life farewells.
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.
Try saying just a sentence or two to your mates about your thoughts and feelings. More in-depth conversations might also help. Consider asking friends who have had a long term relationship end what they found helpful for coping. Ask them how their thoughts and feelings about the breakup have changed over time.
Tools like confiding in close friends, journaling, talking to a therapist, or meditating can all help you process, cope with, and move past the pain of missing someone.