This Surprising Trick Could Help You Get Over A Breakup
Even if you are a strong, empowered man or woman who knows how much your magnificent self has to offer this world, being in the midst of a breakup can still bring you down. Simply put, breakups are rough. The sad truth of that special relationship coming to an end can pull even the most fabulous person into a dark hole of misery. Luckily, there are safety nets to make sure we don't get too cozy in the dark place. Our loved ones, favorite junk foods (shout out to you Ben & Jerry's), soppy playlists, and sunny weather are all there to come to our defense when we're feeling down. But there is one surprising trick that is so simple and effective it must be known to anyone trying to get over their ex.
Well + Good has wonderful news for the newly single. According to a recent study, merely believing that you're taking steps toward getting over a breakup actually affects parts of your brain associated with your emotions, which could lessen the feelings of pain you have during a breakup. This is the placebo effect working at its finest.
The placebo effect can come to your rescue during a breakup
This is not too hard to believe considering placebo treatments have been proven effective treatments to lessening pain for quite some time. Leonie Koban, first author and postdoctoral research associate, tells Well + Good, "Doing anything that you believe will help you feel better, will probably help you feel better." So if we believe hiring a personal chef, masseuse, and personal trainer post-breakup would make us feel better, it's such a relief (especially for our bank accounts) to know that just daydreaming about these helpful luxuries can actually help us through a difficult time. So, if anyone tries to tell you that daydreaming is pointless, you can politely inform them of their wrongness.
If you are not going through a breakup yourself, you most likely know someone who is currently in splitsville. According to The Cut, roughly 40 percent of marriages in America end in divorce and it is a conservative guess that we date at least five people before saying "yes" and walking down the aisle. Heartbreak is as common as it is unhappy. Luckily for us, we now know that we can be proactive about moving on by just thinking about what would help us to do so.