There is a scientific explanation to every damn thing on this planet. EVERYTHING. If you ever stumble across something unscientific – there are insanely high chances that you won’t – run from it, because that is probably very bad news.
So, then, it probably will not come as a surprise if we tell you that there are scientifically-proven facts about breakups. That means that even before we knew what was happening, science knew the end result. Damn you, science!
Incessant analysis of doomed relationships from all over the globe led to these few points that science would want you to know. Brian Boutwell, Ph.D., associate professor of epidemiology at Saint Louis University found out some hard truths about breakups in a recent study.
1. Men tend to mostly break up over sexual infidelity
This fact is in fact deeply rooted in biology. As a study conducted by Dr. Brian Boutwell shows “Sexual infidelity posses a direct threat to the genetic fitness of a male. In other words, it means he may end up raising a child who is not his own. This would mean that his own genes are not passed along.”
2. Women don’t take emotional cheating lightly
It is not to say that women are okay with physical cheating; in fact it is equally damaging for women too.
But emotional cheating takes a higher toll because it seems to pose a threat to the children and the family by extension. Unlike men, women are not insure about the possibility of the children not being theirs. If the safety and prosperity of the children are at stake because the father is emotionally unavailable or taken, the women will see to it that the relationship ends.
3. Cruelty is out of bounds. Always
This might sound very obvious, yet here we go – if one is a violent or an unpredictable person, it is highly likely that he or she is single. As Boutwell says, “A partner who is unpredictable, cruel, and violent toward a partner and their children is unlikely to represent a safe bet in terms of reproducing and raising children to adulthood”.
4. Money issues can end any relationship
Financial trouble is one of the most common reasons for divorce, leaving behind issues related to in-laws, kids and even sex. Arguments about money also tend to be more intense and is likely to be stretched for long. People have independent and strong beliefs about the use of money, which might reveal unsavoury aspects of the relationship.
5. Obsessing over your ex may help you get over them
Unlike how it seems, obsessing over a recent split might actually be healthy for you. Not only does it help one in getting over an ex, it also means that the individual has a strong sense of self as a single person.
6. Stay away from social media if you want a healthy relationship
This one is sort of inexplicable. But what has been found is that Facebook and Twitter is linked to a emotional and physical cheating, leading to breakups and divorce. Experts speculate that this is so because these sites make it easier for people to get in touch with old flames.
7. Falling in love is like having a drug habit, breaking-up is like abruptly stopping it
This might be a well known fact. Boutwell says “The regions of the brain which are implicated in feelings of love and attraction are also implicated in addiction to various illegal drugs. This is perhaps not surprising, though, given the strong addictive feelings we feel toward someone when we fall in love with them—or when we’re broken up with and still care for our former partner.”
8. People bounce back from a breakup twice as fast as they expect
That does not mean it is easy, it just means that it is not as bad as we imagine it will become. As researcher Paul Eastwick from Northwestern University explains “Life goes on in the wake of a breakup. And when you’re making your predictions, you aren’t thinking about all the things that could be positive that might happen in the next week or two.”
9. Like bouncing back, rebound sex also happens sooner than expected
For some it might happen at a lightening speed. A group of researchers from University of Missouri found out that 58 per cent of people from their study group went for rebound sex within a month. A lot of them also admitted that they slept with someone so that they could get over their ex.
10. A breakup might make one go through an identity crisis
Not only the entire situation sucks, everything goes from being ‘we’ to ‘I’. The more one is committed to the partner, the more the choices begin to overlap. A study showed that breakups can alter a person’s sense of self, which might leave them distressed.
Science, bitch!
H/T: Women’s Health and livescience