Being in love is amazing, love is one of the most powerful emotions a person can have. There is a lot of fantasy, excitement and chemistry when two people are in love. The feeling of being in love can be considered as a high and some people even say they are drunk in love.
When relationships are new, they are thrilling, intoxicating and exciting – you want to talk to the person that you are in love with all the time, see them as often as you can, everything they do is cute, and they seem to say the right things that make you smile all the time.
But some relationships don’t last or have the fairy tale ending that we may have been dreaming of and that is when the problems begin.
If you have been in a relationship that ended in a breakup then you know just how that feels; It Sucks!
If you are lucky enough to not have experienced it, you may know someone that had a break up and their whole life fell apart.
When you break up with someone you can’t eat or sleep or even breathe, it hurts. You feel like your whole world is falling apart and a whole lot of other emotions are triggered. Some people get over breakups quite quickly and while sadness and grief are common after a breakup, it is important to recognise if there are any symptoms of depression.
It is normal to grieve the loss of a relationship so that you may begin to heal, but there are healthy and also unhealthy symptoms of a breakup; knowing how to identify these can help you determine if you may be suffering from depression.
As with any loss, it is usual to have
- Feelings of frustration and anger
- Sadness
- Crying
- Shock
- Denial
- Loneliness
- Fear
- Insomnia
- Loss of interest in activities
The recovery timeline varies from person to person, but your emotional state should improve bit by bit as you adjust to life without your partner.
There are ways of helping yourself feel better during this time for instance;
- taking time to exercise and catch up with friends and family
- understanding your own self-worth and not dwelling on the past
- not jumping into another romantic relationship straight away
- writing or talking about it
- appreciating your own self-worth
- not blaming yourself
If your feelings do not improve at all after a few weeks or they get worse, you should talk to a doctor.
Some of the symptoms to look out for are;
- Feeling worthless
- Developing insomnia or sleeping too much
- Loss of appetite
- Compulsive eating for comfort
- Loss of interest in activities once enjoyed
- Feeling hopeless and blaming oneself for all the bad things
- Having suicidal thoughts
- Feeling empty everyday
- Difficulty concentrating on general tasks and decision making
- Having no energy for most of the day
- Low self esteem
- Feeling anxious
It is common for people to get depressed after a breakup, however some people are more at risk if they have had a previous history with depression or another mood disorder.
If depressed feelings persist they may worsen and affect a person’s quality of life, it is advisable to see a doctor when this happens. Any thoughts or talk of suicide should be taken seriously and in times of crisis one may seek help from the hospital’s emergency services.
