Table of contents:
- 1. The brain sends real signals of pain and longing
- 2. The body builds up a response fight or flight
- 3. Acne and hair loss
- 4. High blood pressure
- 5. Broken heart syndrome
Heartbreak does not only affect a person's psychological condition. This condition can also have a negative impact on the physical and cause a number of health problems.
Research shows that a broken heart can cause health problems. Even the health problems that arise from a broken heart can become very serious in some cases. So, what really happens in your body when you break your heart?
Here are 5 health problems experienced by the body when a broken heart.
1. The brain sends real signals of pain and longing
Confused and missing, it turns out that it is not just a joke. The 2010 study published in Journal of Neurophysiology states, when you are forced to separate after spending part of your life and get used to the presence of someone you love, the brain sends pain signals throughout your body and causes various symptoms withdrawal seriously, like a blind person.
The study was conducted by requiring 15 people who had recently broken up to look at photos of their ex-boyfriends and then solve math problems. Then the process is repeated, but using a photo of the closest relationship who does not have any romantic relationship.
Brain scans of the participants showed certain areas in the brain that could trigger pain appeared to be activated when they saw photos of their exes.
Gripe headaches, no appetite, insomnia, and "panda eyes" experienced as a result of a breakup can be proven scientifically. This is caused by decreased levels of dopamine and oxytocin, chemicals that make you happy, replaced by skyrocketing levels of cortisol (stress hormone). Exactly the physical symptoms of withdrawal experienced by cocaine users.
2. The body builds up a response fight or flight
When threatened, you will automatically do various ways to survive. Response fight or flight refers to physiological reactions that arise as a result of a stressor, both mental and physical.
In response to stress, the sympathetic nervous system in the brain is activated due to the sudden release of a number of hormones. The nervous system stimulates the adrenal glands, which triggers production catecholamine to alert your body to take action.
However, hormone production when the body does not need it will lead to a number of other problems, such as shortness of breath and body aches (due to excess cortisol production), a racing heart (due to the production of cortisol and adrenaline), and fat accumulation in the body.
If when you break your heart you feel that your appetite is greatly reduced, this is the result of increased cortisol production in your body. Cortisol, which is produced during stress, blocks blood flow into the digestive tract. As a result, the production of stomach acid increases and gives a feeling of discomfort in the stomach. The food that enters the body feels bland and unappetizing, making you even more reluctant to eat.
And according to a 1994 study, stress can even affect fat distribution, because cortisol promotes fat deposition especially in your abdominal area.
3. Acne and hair loss
Again due to hormones. A 2007 study is published in The New York Post managed to rule out common acne-causing factors like pollution and ensure that stress can actually lead to acne inflammation.
Researchers said 23% of inflammatory acne cases occurred when people were under very high stress, such as when they had a broken heart.
Stress also causes hair loss. Daniel K. Hall-Flavin, M.D, a health consultant at mayoclinic.org, states, there are a number of reasons why stress can lead to hair loss.
The production of stress hormones gradually loosens the hair follicles, causing the strands to fall out when you comb or when you wash your hair. Not only that, the stress of a broken heart can also trigger your habit of pulling hair from the scalp (called trichotillomania). It arises as a temporary solution to feelings of confusion and discomfort due to stress, loneliness, or frustration.
4. High blood pressure
According to the American Heart Association, blood pressure can increase temporarily when you are under stress. However, stress alone cannot be ascertained as a cause of chronic high blood pressure. So, there's no need (plus) to worry about this.
However, someone who has a history of high blood pressure and is stricken with stress needs to be careful. A brief increase in blood pressure for people with this condition will lead to a hypertensive crisis that causes symptoms such as headaches, difficulty breathing, and even nosebleeds.
5. Broken heart syndrome
The American Heart Association explains that when under severe stress (such as during a broken heart), sometimes part of your heart will temporarily enlarge and not be able to pump blood properly. While the rest of the heart functions very well, it can even contract very strongly.
This condition can lead to severe short-term heart muscle failure. Technically, this condition is referred to as stress-induced cardiomyopathy, but is more commonly referred to as "broken heart syndrome".
The good news is that broken heart syndrome is a very rare medical condition that is easy to treat. A study in Japan in 2014 estimated that only 2% of cases of broken heart syndrome in the world were followed by acute coronary problems.
The same study found that broken heart syndrome tended to affect women more, with case reports reaching 80 percent at the time of the study. These various health problems arise from the stress of a broken heart.
