How Does Heartbreak Affect the Body? Here's the Science Behind A Broken Heart

Science writer Florence Williams shared her heartbreak journey in a new book when her husband for 25 years left her. She said that it felt like she suffered from a brain injury because of the breakup. She wanted so badly to understand her physical reaction to the breakup so she began to speak to experts in the US and England about how heartbreak could cause physiological symptoms.

In her new book, titled " Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey," Williams investigates how extreme emotional pain could translate into physical pain affecting the heart, the digestive and immune systems, and the body as a whole.

(Photo: Unsplash/Kelly Sikkema)
How Does Heartbreak Affect the Body? Here's the Science Behind A Broken Heart

Science of Falling In Love

Maryanne Fisher, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Saint Mary's University in Canada, wrote in Psychology Today that people experience love differently. But the chemistry behind it shows that the experience could be explained in the biological sense.

It starts when the brain and adrenal glands release dopamine, affecting various organs, including genitals, sweat glands, and the five senses. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that makes people feel nervous and responsible for feelings of pleasure, excitement, and happiness.

After the first step, neurotransmitters norepinephrine and phenylethylamine (PEA) are released to increase a person's focus o the person they desire and increase feelings of euphoria. A feedback loop is then activated in which the brain's reward system is involved.

On the other hand, Williams noted that falling in love also stimulates stress hormone production, perhaps as a way to prepare the person for heartbreak. She said that the stress hormones are responsible for the agitated feeling when the partner leaves, so the person would seek them or feel grateful when they come back. This means people are biologically primes when they fall in love to feel stress when their relationship ends.

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Science of Heartbreak: What Breakups Do to the Brain and Body?

It is not easy to deal with breakups as it stirs up feelings of rejection and makes people generally feel upset. According to INSIDER, the body may register heartbreak as an emergency and enter a "fight or flight" mode. The body releases hormones that prepare it to either stay and deal with the threat or run away to safety in this state.

Clinical psychologist Dr. Kristin Bianchi told INSIDER that the muscles would tense, reduce appetite, experience gastrointestinal disruption, and have trouble falling asleep. This is a stage when the body is physically hyper-vigilant over a period that leads to headaches, stomachaches, and muscle aches.

Healthline also reported that when both the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems are activated simultaneously, the body will experience discomfort, such as chest pains. This proves that heartbreak can cause physiological symptoms.

Williams cited in her new book the 2011 earthquake in Japan in which the country has seen a large number of people reporting heart attack symptoms despite not having any risk factors or clogged arteries that will support their claim.

Experts said that this disorder called takotsubo cardiomyopathy is experienced due to trauma when the body releases too many stress hormones. This showed a clear relationship between extreme emotional pain and physical symptoms.

Dr. Bianchi said that if the body feels the impact of the breakup, the person should get enough sleep and eat well. Although it is normal to feel out of sorts during heartbreak, a person should contact a health provider if it goes out of hand and makes it difficult to eat, sleep, and function every day.