Aarti
The effects of a breakup on one’s health can be devastating. A separation can cause not just significant changes in one’s material circumstances and living arrangements, but also significant mental distress. The difficulty of a split might vary greatly. You could possibly be able to release your attachment and move on fast. Feelings of rage, sadness, bitterness, anxiety, and heartbreak are also possible.
All of these sentiments are common following a breakup, but they should be taken seriously if they persist for an extended period of time and cause significant impairment in daily functioning. Some people experience extended and severe emotional anguish after traumatic life events, such as a breakup or divorce.
Symptoms of Breakup Depression
Sadness after a breakup can range from minor to severe. These emotions can sometimes be intense, but only for a short time. In other situations, people may experience a spectrum of mild to severe sadness that might fluctuate and last for a longer time.
Since everyone deals with heartbreak differently, knowing when to ask for help after a breakup can be challenging. Some of the more serious signs of depression are:2
- a sense of despair or helplessness
- Alterations to one’s weight and appetite
- Lack of sleep or too much sleep Loss of interest and enjoyment
- Depression and a sense of futility
- Feelings of sadness, emptiness, or insignificance
- Weakness and exhaustion
- Listlessness
- Delayed or constant suicidal ideas
Sadness and grief are normal emotional reactions to traumatic experiences. Breakups, studies have revealed, can have far-reaching effects on people.3People often express negative emotions including sadness, isolation, and a drop in self-esteem after a relationship ends.
Causes of Depression After Breakup
The loss of a relationship is a trigger for this kind of situational sadness. A breakup has the potential to be a watershed moment in one’s life. Separating from the person you loved often triggers a domino effect of other dramatic shifts in your life.
When mutual friends take opposing positions, it can strain or even destroy other friendships. You may need to make changes to your living arrangements, your budget, or even how you and your ex-spouse handle parenting responsibilities for your children.
Diagnosis of Depression After Breakup
Although there is no such thing as a clinical diagnosis or label for how you’re feeling after a breakup, that doesn’t make what you’re going through any less real.
Your doctor or mental health professional may ask you questions regarding the severity, frequency, and duration of your symptoms if you wish to discuss them with them.
Treatment
The good news is that by six months after a breakup, most people feel better on their own, even if they initially experienced depression as a result of the event.6Most people feel a lot better as time goes on, things get better, and they start to recover from a breakup.
Self-care and having a solid support system at your disposal can go a long way toward easing the burden of even moderate symptoms.
Consult your doctor or therapist if your symptoms worsen or if you merely think you could use some more support. Gaining insight, resolving destructive thought patterns, and learning healthy coping mechanisms are all things that can be aided by professional counseling.
Coping With Depression After Breakup
Regardless of the severity of your feelings of loss once a relationship ends, there are steps you can take to improve your quality of life. The likelihood of experiencing post-breakup depression is impossible to anticipate, but you can take steps to increase your resilience to adverse circumstances.
- Among the options available to you are:
- Building a solid social support system, both in person and online8
- Self-Care and Health Improvement Practice creative problem-solving
- Enhance your sense of self-worth.
- Establish benchmarks to achieve
- Do something to fix your issues.
- Discover your life’s calling.
Give yourself permission to express and work through your emotions in ways that are authentic, respectful, and helpful to you (such as through creative expression, physical activity, journaling, etc.).
Keeping yourself busy is another good strategy. Though you may feel like brooding, keeping your mind and body active can help you avoid doing so. Get started on that home improvement project you’ve been thinking about, or take up that intriguing new activity.
Getting some exercise and hanging out with friends can also help you feel better and deal with the emotional fallout of a divorce. Writing about emotions or happy experiences has also been demonstrated to help people cope with trauma
Breakups can be incredibly trying on your sense of identity and your ability to function independently.10 Putting your attention on your career or your interests, two areas of your life over which you likely have more say, can help you feel more in charge again.
