Romantic Breakups, Heartbreak and Bereavement--Romantic Breakups (Report‪)‬

Romantic breakups can be followed by symptoms of heartbreak and bereavement (Prigerson & Jacobs, 2001; Raphael, Minkov, & Dobson, 2001; Davis, Shaver, & Vernon, 2003), typically, these symptoms have been associated with a loss from death, although they can also occur following other losses like divorce and romantic breakups (Prigerson & Jacobs, 2001; Davis et al., 2003). This review of research from these different literatures suggests that romantic breakups, like the losses following death or divorce, can lead to bereavement symptoms including intrusive thoughts, difficulty controlling intrusive thoughts and insomnia as well as heartbreak syndrome and compromised immune function. Studies on bereavement symptoms, heartbreak syndrome and immune dysfunction are followed by a summary of research on romantic breakups and their symptoms. A potential underlying mechanism model is then presented, suggesting that it is the loss of the person as a regulator of stimulation and arousal modulation that can result in physiological and biochemical dysregulation including reduced vagal activity, increased cortisol and catecholamines and compromised immune function. Limitations of this literature are then suggested as well as future research including multi-variable studies that could assess these systems both before and after the breakups occur.