The Science of Heartbreak

Why is a 'broken heart' so painful?

Join the fun!

Written and created by Mitchell Moffit (twitter @mitchellmoffit) and Gregory Brown (twitter @whalewatchmeplz).

Further Reading:

Why Does Social Exclusion Hurt? The Relationship Between Social and Physical Pain

The Broken Heart Syndrome

[christianfuentes]

Seeing the person you love happy with someone else is the worst

[Diaming]

Like me, sensitive people feel deeper love and deeper pain.

[richbermudacp]

Anyone wanna come over to my house and cry with me?

[mckenna]

Who here went through heartbreak and is here in the comments, feeling better now knowing you are not the only one?

[herbestt]

When you're heartbroken over someone who was never yours :(...

[Soloworth]

It's frustrating to hear "someone better" will come along when the person you lost is the best person you've ever met... and the only one you have any interest in spending time with. Nobody else even LOOKS attractive anymore.

[zoesmith]

I wonder how biology can explain the physical pain you feel in your chest when all you want to do is be with someone.

[cutieprincess]

I never realized how awful heart break was. After the breakup my heart was beating so fast and so "loud" for weeks. The first week, I couldn't even hear people at work because my ears were filled with the sound of my heart beating. I constantly felt like I was going to vomit or faint. I also could not eat. Food tasted like nothing. I could not sleep so I was also delirious and erratic. The crying and lack of food/water left me dehydrated.

[stonecoldluv]

my now ex boyfriend just left me 4 days ago and it hurts so much. we were best friends before we got together and now it hurts to look at him or think about him. i act fine around him and my friends but as soon as im alone im a wreck. love hurts dude.

[JT-jdsz]

*gets heartbroken*
Normal people: cry with chocolate and netflix
Me: looks it up on ASAP

[adrianarreola]

This comment section makes me wanna cry cause it's a saddening section. Hope all goes well for everyone out there

[dreck]

I’m so heart broken right now that I’m literally scared to fall in love and get attached to someone again.

[henrylung]

U cant surround urself with friends if u don't have any :/

[phonossmith]

I was only 15 and I visited this girl nearly everyday. Her name was YouTube

[rocklover]

why they pretend to love us just to cause us pain and leave ? I ll move on when I ll find the answer

[ѕку-йш]

I just recently had my heart broken. My first relationship, the first person I've ever loved in a romantic way, all of those memories are thrown away forever. I'll never be able to experience those memories with them again, things will never be the same between us even though we've agreed to stay friends. The absolute worst is hearing that "it's not you, it's me" when you know deep in your heart you could've done something to change the outcome, and to hear that person say "you'll find someone else" is heartbreaking because it feels like you were matched with the perfect person, and now they're gone forever

[psychogrizzly]

why am I watching this I've never even had a relationship lol

[osiris_blanche]

Physical Pain *eventually* forgets. Emotional is forever.

[stickytoastcrunch]

Me and my ex-bf broke up like 7months ago, but I still want to cry about it. He's the most amazing person I've ever met, and I just wish I never met him, so that it wouldn't be so painful

[susigau]

Have you ever wanted to cry but no tears came out, so you just stare blankly into space while feeling your heart break into pieces?