Can You Die from a Broken Heart? 15 Answers You Didn’t Expect

If you’ve ever had your heart broken, you know just how much that pain can completely consume you. But can you die from a broken heart?

There’s really nothing worse than a broken heart. If you’ve ever been blindsided by being dumped by someone you really care about, then you know exactly how it feels. You can’t breathe. You can’t eat. It feels like all the happiness has been sucked right out of your life by a giant vacuum.

Needless to say, it’s not fun. At times, you may even feel like your life is going to end or the pain is so much you may feel like you’re going to die. But can you die from a broken heart? Can you slowly fade away until you’re nothing?

How to ease a broken heart

Broken hearts are really terrible, and they hurt like literally nothing else. But there are a few things you can do to make that pain a little easier to manage so it won’t end up taking over your entire life.

Staying busy and forcing yourself to be distracted really helps you forget about the pain so you can actually heal for a little while. Surround yourself with friends who make you happy, and focus on the hobbies you truly love. [Read: How to stop thinking about someone you still like]

So, can you die from a broken heart?

It may seem silly to those who’ve never experienced this kind of pain to think that a broken heart can actually kill you. But I think everyone would be surprised by just how badly getting your heart torn out can really affect you.

If you don’t know the physical and emotional changes that take place inside someone when they’re heartbroken, I’ll clear the air for you. Here’s how a broken heart can affect you, and if you can really die from it.

#1 You don’t have an appetite. This is true for the majority of people. When you get your heart broken, your body kind of shuts down and you don’t feel like eating anything or drinking much because you don’t feel hungry. The adrenaline running through your system makes eating seem nauseating. [Read: How to heal a broken heart the wicked way]

#2 You don’t eat. Without an appetite, you don’t eat nearly as much as you’re supposed to. Maybe you can stomach an apple for the day or a piece of toast. The trouble with this is pretty obvious.

We need food to survive. Without it, our body starts shutting down and using less and less energy as a means to save itself. This results in barely mobile people who don’t do anything at all.

#3 You eat far too much. On the flip side, there are certain people who take to food as a means of comfort. Downing all of your favorite junk feels like a way to fill the void that is now present in your body. This, however, is almost as bad as not eating anything. You’ll gain a significant amount of weight, and that’s never healthy.

#4 You have trouble sleeping. Nightmares may consume your sleep – especially if you’re already a heavy dreamer. They become vivid, sharp, and even more terrifying with the added stress and emotional trauma of a broken heart. So, you don’t sleep, and this will obviously affect your day to day life. [Read: 10 signs you’re lovesick and 10 ways to get out of it]

#5 Fun activities aren’t so fun anymore. The one thing you used to love may not even bring you joy anymore when you have a broken heart. So, you stop doing it. This can make you struggle to smile or laugh because you just don’t find happiness in the things you once did.

#6 Your anxiety shoots through the roof. This is for obvious reasons. When someone dumps you and you’re left to pick up the pieces, your body goes on high alert. It’s as if you’re in a foreign place with foreign people, even if you’re at home with family. This makes you nervous, skittish, and highly emotional.

#7 Depression may set in. In a lot of cases, people can go into a deep depression when they’re heart-broken. We all know just how terrible depression can be for your mind and body. Without proper assistance, this can spiral out of control in the worst way. [Read: How to stop holding onto a relationship that’s over]

#8 Your stress hormones become elevated. And they stay elevated for a long time after. These hormones can cause you to gain weight, lose weight, lose sleep, break out, have trouble with digestion, and so many other things that affect you physically.

#9 You remove yourself from friends. Have you ever heard that the more friends you have, the longer you’ll live? Basically, human contact is something we NEED in order to survive. When your heart is broken, you never feel like being with anybody. Your solitude becomes your norm and this is TERRIBLE for you. [Read: The three stages to embrace and overcome loneliness]

#10 You can have actual heart issues. Now, this is far more common in those who actually lose a loved one, as in, they pass away. Sometimes you can be rushed to the hospital in what people may diagnose as a heart attack, when in reality, it’s a condition called Broken Heart Syndrome. So, you can have problems with your real heart when your emotional heart is broken.

#11 You can be in actual pain. The mind is such a powerful organ that it can FAKE pain when you’re in emotional pain. Basically, when you’re heart-broken, your brain mimics that emotional pain in physical form, and you can actually feel pain in your joints and different parts of your body.

#12 Your blood pressure increases. With all of the other stuff going on in your body, your blood pressure can increase an awful lot. This is never a good thing in anybody, and therefore, you can imagine just how dangerous it can be if it continues to stay high or increase steadily for a long time.

#13 Your hair can begin to fall out. Due to the stress hormones surging through your body, it’s not uncommon for people to lose some hair when they’re going through a breakup. It may not be really obvious to others, but you’ll start pulling out more and more hair while washing it in the shower. [Read: I just want to be loved – Unlikely reasons why you’re feeling this way]

#14 You won’t be thinking straight. Your mind is going to be preoccupied almost always with the thoughts of the heartbreak. You’ll be overwhelmed with sadness, and you won’t be able to think straight and do things you normally did.

Work can become difficult. Chores becomes daunting. You may even find that making a pot of coffee becomes a really difficult task mentally when you have a broken heart.

#15 Hope becomes a foreign emotion. When it feels like your heart is torn in a million pieces, hope doesn’t seem to exist. You lose sight of the light at the end of the tunnel, and this makes you lose your will to keep going. This can be very dangerous to a lot of people who also suffer from depression and anxiety.

So, REALLY… can you die from broken heart?

The truth is that if you let your broken heart consume you and take over your life, any prolonged presence of the above conditions can definitely lead you down a path that’s straight toward an early death.

[Read: Why does love hurt so much when it goes bad?]

So there’s your answer to the question – can die from a broken heart? Broken hearts are no joke. The next time you hear of a friend going through a difficult breakup, offer your support.

The post Can You Die from a Broken Heart? 15 Answers You Didn’t Expect is the original content of LovePanky - Your Guide to Better Love and Relationships.