Going through heartache of any kind is no easy feat. The feelings of grief and loss that come with breakups, deaths, and even huge life transitions can leave us feeling defeated and ultimately heartbroken.
While it may not be easy, there is light on the other side of heartache, and a toolbox of healthy coping mechanisms can help you get there in one piece. Here, we asked experts to explain what heartache is really all about, plus how to deal with it. Here’s what they had to say.
What heartache feels like.
When we hear “heartache,” our mind probably jumps to romantic relationships. But as anyone who’s ever lost a family member knows, heartache doesn’t have to be romantic. Losses of any kind can elicit many of the same emotions—and even physical pains—associated with breakups.
As licensed marriage and family therapist Shane Birkel, LMFT, explains, we’re naturally wired for relationships as human beings. From an evolutionary perspective, having strong connections with others was imperative to our very survival. And so now, when we experience the loss of a close relationship, it feels devastating and earth-shattering.
When we feel emotionally close to someone, especially if we’re partnered with them for a significant amount of time, Birkel says we feel validated by them, we consider them in our future, and part of our sense of self comes from how we relate to the other person. That all goes away when the relationship ends, which can be extremely disorienting, as the future you’d imagined and your sense of self through that person is gone.
This kind of upheaval brings up a lot of emotions (think the stages of grief, i.e., denial, anger, etc.), but it can cause physical symptoms as well. Research shows we can become essentially addicted to love neurologically, and even go through “withdrawal” after a breakup. Additional research has found there really is such thing as a broken heart, with “broken heart syndrome,” a type of heart condition, occurring amid intense emotional or physiological stress.
1. Allow yourself to go through the grieving process.
According to Birkel, one of the biggest mistakes he sees his clients make is to suppress or otherwise avoid feeling the tough emotions that come with a breakup or loss. There’s no need to shame yourself for feeling sad, angry, or upset, he says, and there’s certainly no need to feel like you have to “pull yourself up by the bootstraps and get over it.”
In fact, he adds, when he has clients who seem to have moved on quite quickly, he actually takes it as a red flag that they’re not truly processing and grieving what’s happened. “And it’s going to show up in some other way down the road,” he notes, “because they’re not appropriately allowing themselves to feel those difficult emotions to go through this.”
Along the same lines, it’s important to be kind to yourself as you go through this tough time. Birkel says it comes down to having compassion for yourself. “You wouldn’t say to a friend who just lost their grandma, ‘Don’t feel sad—you’ll be fine,'” he explains, so don’t talk to yourself that way either. Treat yourself as you would a friend. “You can do that in self-talk to help you feel the sadness and the grief and the loneliness,” he notes.
3. Lean on your support system.
While you may have experienced the loss of one relationship, you’ve still got friends and family in your corner who want to support and be there for you—so let them!
Birkel, as well as licensed marriage and family therapist Linda Carroll M.S., LMFT, both acknowledge the importance of leaning on your community. Not only will they help you not to isolate, but they can act as a soundboard, a support system, or just company when you need it.
4. Foster healthy habits and routines.
It can feel challenging to take care of basic things when you’re going through an emotionally turbulent time, but this is when those healthy habits really make a difference. Birkel emphasizes the need to focus on things like exercising (hello, endorphins!), eating right, and planning activities you enjoy.
“It helps you continue to stay grounded in the world, so you don’t go down the road of hopelessness,” he notes, adding when you’re staying active, being healthy, and surrounding yourself with people, you’re much more able to deal with what’s happening in your life.
5. Use “both/and” phrases.
This one ties back to the grieving process and giving yourself grace. Carroll explains using “both/and” phrases helps you not only validate your emotional experience but tap into your own sense of groundedness. There’s a component of mindfulness here, she adds. Think phrases like, “I am so sad, and I need to get this report done,” or “I am feeling deep grief and don’t even want to get up, and I know my body needs a walk.”
Deep losses can lead us to make impulsive and even risky decisions more often, especially when it comes to reaching out to an ex in the case of a breakup. As Carroll explains, “the intensity of your desire to strike back, call your lover, do something harmful, etc., is not related to the wisdom of doing it.” If you’re dealing with bouts of impulsivity, reactions, or urges, she recommends practicing mindful pauses and waiting at least 24 hours before you act on those feelings.
As therapist Jesse Kahn, LCSW, CST, previously explained to mbg, journaling about the heartache you’re experiencing can do wonders. In fact, research has shown newly divorced people who wrote about their divorce experienced more mental health benefits than other kinds of writing.
“Writing can be one of the most sacred and healing spaces in one’s life,” Kahn says. “Having the space to free-write can give you insight into your breakup, your current feelings, and why your breakup is so painful.” And that goes for any loss, not just romantic ones.
8. Avoid jumping back into the dating scene.
This one will greatly depend on what kind of loss you’re dealing with, how long you were in your past relationship, and a host of other factors. But according to Berkel, generally speaking it’s a good idea to give yourself some time before jumping back into dating.
“It’s something to be mindful of if you find yourself seeking a lot of attention from other people, even sexual attention, to feel good about yourself,” he explains. “That might be a signal you’re avoiding the grieving process, or you’re trying to fill the emptiness with something that’s not going to be a long-term solution.”
9. Consider speaking with a mental health professional.
And last but certainly not least, if you’re really struggling, consider going to therapy. Sometimes these things are too much to deal with without the guidance and support of a professional. “If it feels like it’s too hard to manage on your own, therapy would definitely be helpful,” Birkel says.
Whether you’ve lost a loved one or are dealing with a devastating breakup, heartache is really, really tough. But remember, it isn’t forever. While it takes time (and patience) to come out on the other side, you’ll have learned something about yourself, grown as a person, and bolstered your own resilience.
