Psychology Today October 2021 pp5 |InSights| “How to Overcome Heartbreak” “The lens through which we view lost love may influence our ability to move past it.” by Arash Emamzadeh
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Read the Psychology Today article for all the details.
Summary offered by 2244
There is a reason for the popularity of all those breakup songs! As you might have guessed losing a love is rather common. Of 4,300 people surveyed “82 percent-reported having had their heart broken at some point.” But of those “currently experiencing heartbreak (14%) were much more likely to be high in neuroticism, have an insecure attachment style, and be single.” A key question asked was what those surveyed thought the heartbreak meant “about their character or personality.” Those insecurely attached individuals more likely saw heartbreak as “indicative of a personal character flaw.” Those at the other end of the spectrum, the securely attached, [were] “more likely to view it as an opportunity for personal growth [and are] less likely to be in the throes of heartbreak.”
How we frame the experience of heartbreak can be “directive and self-fulfilling.” Painting a narrative of character growth may “thus be an adaptive coping strategy.” For those struggling with heartbreak, good news you are not alone as “eight people out of 10 go through [heartbreak].” According to the study author, Will Dunlop, going through heartbreak may “even [be] part of the normative life course...It certainly doesn’t mean there’s anything fundamentally wrong with you.”