How do you know if you are suffering from romantic depression? What are the symptoms of this type of depression? Find out how to deal with it.
A breakup can have harmful consequences on our well-being. In fact, the end of a relationship not only causes major changes in our finances or the way we live, but also creates a lot of emotional turmoil. While emotions like sadness, anxiety, and anger may be normal after a breakup, the reality is that when they last too long, they end up having negative effects on our daily lives. And that may be a sign that something else is bothering us. If you experience depressive symptoms after a breakup, you may be suffering from romantic depression.
Symptoms of romantic depression
Emotional distress can range from mild to severe after a breakup. When these feelings of distress persist for a longer period of time, it may be a sign that you are suffering from romantic depression. Here are some of the symptoms that may indicate that one is suffering from depression:
- Feelings of hopelessness or helplessness.
- Changes in appetite, which may lead to weight loss or gain.
- Sleeping too much or too little
- Loss of interest and pleasure in previously enjoyable activities
- Feeling of worthlessness
It’s completely normal to feel sadness and grief after a breakup. Research has shown that breakups can profoundly affect people’s lives, causing them to experience heartbreak, loneliness, and even loss of self-esteem. This is why it is important to give yourself time to grieve the loss of a relationship. However, if you recognize yourself in these symptoms, it is advisable to consult a professional therapist to get treatment.
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How to get out of love depression?
If you’re experiencing feelings of sadness after a breakup or even think you’re suffering from emotional distress, there are some tips you can follow to cope with these emotions. Here are some things you can do to overcome this situation:
- Talk about it: By isolating yourself, you will only make your love blues worse. So it’s helpful to talk about it with the people you are closest to and trust the most. Talking about your feelings and what you are going through will allow you to not repress your emotions and to feel better in this situation.
- Give yourself time: You won’t stop loving your ex-partner in just one day, so don’t rush to get over those feelings of heartbreak. Give yourself time and space to process these feelings so you feel fully ready to take the next step. At this point, it may be helpful to try to cope with these emotions through art, music, journaling, etc.
- Focus on self-care: When a relationship ends, it’s completely normal for us to feel like we don’t want to focus on ourselves and our self-care. Yet this is what we must do to recover from sadness or negative feelings that we can feel at that moment. Put yourself back in the center, you are the most important person in your life. So try to eat better, exercise outdoors, and focus on what you want in your life.
- Work on improving your self-esteem: A breakup is an emotional shock that can end up affecting the way we view ourselves. This is why it may be a good idea to use this time to focus on your self-esteem. Working on this aspect of ourselves means having more gratitude for what we have done, understanding what our abilities are and how to strengthen them, and above all, accepting ourselves to improve.
- Set goals and mobilize your energy to achieve them: Focusing on aspects other than love can also help us overcome sadness due to love. In other words, you must have in mind the goals you want to achieve in your life and give your life a direction. Choose easy, achievable steps to take to get there. Take one step at a time. Writing down your goals and daily steps will help you focus on them.
- Get therapy: If you feel like you can’t get over a breakup and think you might be suffering from depression, it’s a good idea to consult a therapist. Therapy can help you cope and focus on learning and growing after a breakup.
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It’s completely normal for people to feel depressed after a breakup. Even if you are the one who decided to end the relationship, you may still feel pain and need some time to adjust to this change. But we must understand that grief is not the same thing as depression. In fact, in the case of bereavement, sadness will decrease over time, whereas untreated depression will involve these depressive states persistently. Even in the absence of a triggering situation or event. In any case, keep in mind that you can always get help to deal with these painful moments.
