Breaking up rips out your heart. It hurts SO much. You can’t think of him without crying. Your friends try to support you, but it doesn’t help. The pain inside you is tearing you apart, yet everyone expects you to go about your normal life as if nothing happened… As if it was “just” a breakup… Rather than a huge chunk of your life ripped out, leaving a gaping wound. The anguish of a breakup is very real. When you think about your ex, specific parts of the brain light up: parts related to physical pain and distress as well as (surprisingly) craving and addiction. [1] Think about someone who’s decided to quit smoking. Sometimes they can distract themselves from their cravings. But other times the need to have another cigarette becomes overpowering. They feel flooded by obsessive thoughts and intense cravings. Breakups can be like that, too. Sometimes you can distract yourself from the pain for a short while. But then the obsessive thoughts and intense craving for him comes back, and you ...