Skip to main content Skip to bottom nav

Why does breaking up hurt so much?

370 Answers
Last Updated: 02/28/2022 at 10:52pm
Why does breaking up hurt so much?
★ This question about Breakups was starred by a moderator on 5/12/2016.
Perfect therapy for people who need help. I would like to say, I never can imagine it could be possible to heal people like that
Ta Tania
5 star rating
Moderated by

Lianne Kirby, MA in Counselling Psychology

Counselor

I believe everyone should have the opportunity for their voice to be heard. I use a trauma informed, person centred approach in counselling.

Top Rated Answers
luckyStar82
July 11th, 2015 9:20pm
Breaking up hurts so much because although a couple might not agree with each other, they have got used to each other's presence that's for sure. So when one finds himself / herself alone, it hurts. Total change of lifestyle. The couple will miss each other, and sometimes certain aspects in the relationship which were taken forgranted, all of a sudden might start to be appreciated.
Anonymous
July 12th, 2015 2:08am
Breaking up can be like a shock to your system. You spend almost every day with the same person and confide in them. Being with them becomes a routine, so when that routine suddently ends, it can be hard to recover.
AlanaG
July 12th, 2015 6:30am
Breaking up with someone can be a really emotional experience to go through, sometimes it hurts because you feel like you have lost a lot of time and sometimes it is because you have put so much effort into loving someone and then all of a sudden it has ended, it is a completely normal thing to go through, and i know this sounds cliche but each day it gets easier... be strong!
Anonymous
July 12th, 2015 7:30am
Because you realise that the person you cared about, loved so much and thought about constantly is no longer going to be in your life anymore, but it does get easier, I promise you that.
iPray
July 14th, 2015 5:25am
It's like having a puppy. You love it so much, you feed it, play with it and laugh with it. Learn from it and teach it what you know, and one day it ran away, that's why it hurts.
friendlyEars70
July 15th, 2015 12:40am
Breaking up with someone hurts so much because well, something in your life is broken. But , that doesn't mean that you are, and it doesn't mean that you won't find the same, or even greater happiness later on in life. Breakups hurt because we think that something is being taken away from us, we feel like momentarily our world has stopped. A breakup can lead to big changes in a persons life and change can be scary. But always remember that there is so much to take away from a breakup. You can learn more about what you want from a relationship and partner that will make you smile in the future and lead to healthier connection and a happier you.
Itsacrazylifewelive
July 15th, 2015 11:47pm
Because you are destroying an attachment that you spent a lot of time and effort investing into. Also, you are ripped away from your emotions and are forced to try to stop having them.
Yourstruleydiana
July 16th, 2015 8:19am
Because you gave everything to that person , and it's just the memories you had with them make it hurt so much
Anonymous
July 16th, 2015 7:58pm
They hurt because you just lost someone who always was there for you and loved you unconditional some that made you happy that's why it hurts so much you lose someone who meant everything to you
Anonymous
July 17th, 2015 3:37am
Breaking up hurts because you've trusted someone with a lot of you,and you've become attached to them.To break that bond between two people is painful because love is identified in the brain as some sort of addiction and you get similar effects with breaking up as you do with having a drug withdrawal,from what I read,so it can sometimes feel even physically painful to go through a breakup
vinilovesyou
July 17th, 2015 11:58pm
Probably because you've just lost that one person you thought you had a future with, that person you thought would never leave you, the one you gave everything to and it resulted in you losing them. Or probably because you feel like you didn't try enough, or you could've done something to prevent it, and beat yourself up about it constantly. Maybe it's the missing their family and friends, whom you've grown so close with or just plain love. Whatever the reason, forget it. Perhaps you can't forget it now, and that's good, because you should grieve, you should allow yourself that lovely pity party, because hopefully when the party's over and you've eaten all the ice cream from your freezer, finished all your sweet goodies and feel like a bloated saggy mess, you will pick yourself up the floor and say, "Screw it, I want to be better, I want to be happy, because I deserve happiness. " And rightfully so, you definitely deserve happiness. Breakups normally hurt everyone, and if it's not hurting it either means you're not human or you just lost touch with your emotions and feelings. Pick yourself up gorgeous, it's time to do something about the pain. :)
silverSound86
July 18th, 2015 3:02pm
Breaking up is very painful because a lot is invested in a relationship. This includes a shared vision, dreams, building together and investing in a sense of shared togetherness. Breaking up means that all of a sudden, at a certain moment, this shared vision ceases to exist. The person then has to make sense of the emptiness in their lives. All the shared moments during the peak of the relationship seem to have no meaning and suddenly life itself seems to have no direction. This can be terribly disconcerting and painful. A break up also creates a huge sense of emotional loss and a sense of failure in maintaining relationships.
ListeningForHope
July 18th, 2015 8:51pm
Break ups hurt because it's taken most of us so long to finally open up to someone that when we let them in our hearts and they leave (which usually feels like it's sudden) it feels like everything we've worked so hard on just falls apart. Breakups can feel like that someone is ripping your heart out and leaving you left alone in the dark. Just know that you can get through it, time really does help. It sounds super cheesy but it's actually very true. I believe in you and know that you can get through this.
Anonymous
July 19th, 2015 5:06am
The reason why breaking up is difficult because it is hard to let go which is understandable. Breaking up made you lose a partner, friend or family member but it leaves you with a lesson for you to accept and learn. So you will become a better person.
Anonymous
July 19th, 2015 6:17pm
Because we are humans, we feed off from love. Since the moment we see someone we unconsciously set expectations. When those expectations are failed to be meet or are destroyed by a wrong doing we come to face reality. Being in love is being fulled of expectations, it makes sense that one a relationship is done you feel hurt.
Anonymous
July 22nd, 2015 2:03am
Because after some time we become attached very much to that person through common experiences, dreams etc...
livefree24
July 22nd, 2015 5:24am
it hurts because you have a bond with that person you were dating. They become your normal, they're in your everyday life. They are what you are used too, you just find a new normal without them.
Anonymous
July 22nd, 2015 11:18am
Due to spending alot of time with the person we make memories. When we can no longer continue with the relationship, a breakup occurs and this hurts because we have given so much time and effort that it is sometimes not appreciated and just fires back at us.
Anonymous
July 22nd, 2015 5:05pm
You form an attachment to someone and trust them with everything, so it is expected that break ups will hurt. It is a natural feeling and you should accept it
CaringCai
July 22nd, 2015 11:17pm
It's hard for two people who care for one another to split, it is understandable. Sometime's breakups are a blessing in disguise.
gentleGemini82
July 23rd, 2015 12:55am
In a healthy relationship there is trust and communication, without those fundamentals it causes anxiety, stress and mistrust. It hurts because you put your heart and dedication into a relationship which you think will work to find obstacals that let your emotions get entangled with what if's and other stuff. Just remember within time comes healing and that healing comes serenity and peace.
animelover92
July 23rd, 2015 3:53am
It hurts so much because you really cared for that person and you opened yourself to that person. Feelings you had with them were very strong and real.
Thanks4Calling
July 23rd, 2015 9:40am
A break up feels like the end of the opportunity for happiness and someone to acknowledge and love you. It hurts because you feel you have opened yourself up and given yourself freely only to feel rejection.
Anonymous
July 23rd, 2015 4:13pm
When you love someone, you integrate them into every day. You think about them, they help you do things, they solve problems, and they just exist along with you. When that all disappears, you feel lost because you actually lost something.
natural11
July 23rd, 2015 11:41pm
Breaking up hurts because somebody you've trusted and been close to for a while, shared things with has decided to call things of, be it because of you or them or someone else, an important part of your life has been taken away and it hurts to see that person having their life the same without you in it.
Anonymous
July 24th, 2015 7:50am
Breaking up is hurt so much because you feel frustrated, upset, unbalance inside and not unsafe. by the way, all of this is optional.
clariageorge
July 25th, 2015 5:45am
Breaking up with someone can be compared to the loss of someone. It is only natural that pain is associated with this, however break-ups are different for everyone and some people hurt more than others. Just remember that time heals all scars and bruising.
Isave
July 25th, 2015 11:59am
It is the same reason someone close to dying hurt us so much. The only difference is the separation here is instigated by us and well both the partners are very much alive and feeling searing pain of separation. Love is euphoric. Break up throws you hard on the ground and man! that's a bad bad fall. All you need is time and some good company and things will get better.
KingsOnFire
July 25th, 2015 10:40pm
Well I think it has to do a lot with the fact that you allow yourself to be open with someone. And that person ends up accepting you for who you are. And you end up falling in love with each other, faults and all. Then suddenly that person you relied on, that you depended on so much, and were always so happy to be with and around, suddenly isn't there. But you have to remember, you were okay before them. You WILL be okay after them.
brightPink59
July 26th, 2015 4:32am
Because you gave your heart to someone and put yourself outthere and had many memories you will always cherish so when its over you feel as if non of that will come back.