Breakups are awful and can leave us feeling helpless and depressed. Getting dumped and rejected is definitely not a good feeling, but it’s also something that we can’t save ourselves from especially when we’re in a relationship. And by the way, it doesn’t always have to be with someone on a romantic level. Breaking up with friends and other people who you have other relationships with can be heart-wrenching as well.
Studies have shown that the same parts of our brain that are activated during physical pain are activated as well after a breakup.1 This goes to show that having our hearts broken is no easy feat and can be similar to getting into an accident.
There are a lot of things that we can do to deal with breakups, and hitting the gym is one of them. Here are the top reasons why doing this can be beneficial:
1. It releases pent-up emotions
Working out is a great way to release overwhelming feelings of sadness, anger, resentment, etc. There’s no better way to handle these intense emotions than by working your butt off at the gym. Use all that pain and channel all of that aggression into passion, and you’ll come out tougher and stronger than you were before.
2. You’ll forget about your ex
Aside from releasing pent-up emotions, exercising is also a good diversion strategy. Instead of feeling miserable and eating a whole pint of ice cream out of agony in one sitting, you’ll be better off if you go hard with weights at the gym. When you’re focused on your workout routine, you won’t have time to even think about the one who dumped you because you’ll be busy giving it your all during crunch time.
3. You’ll have more time to commit yourself to fitness
Being in a relationship is not a walk in the park. It takes a lot of time, effort, and even patience to make it work. You have to go on dates, attend events, and do other things to strengthen your connection with your lover or friend. Spending time doing different activities and getting to know them can make you take precious family time for granted as well as make you lose time for fitness.
Once you’re single, you’ll have more time to focus on yourself and take charge of your health. This change is a good thing and gives you the chance to stay in shape and be in control of your well-being.
4. You’ll feel happier, stronger, fitter, and more confident.
Being rejected is painful and will be a tough blow to your ego, especially when the person you fell in love with and have tremendous feelings for decides they don’t want you in their life anymore. It’s a hard pill to swallow, whether or not you already saw it coming or if it’s something that happened out of the blue.
There’s beauty in being broken because this pain that you’re feeling is something that you can use to rebuild yourself and start all over again. Once you start hitting the gym more, you’ll be able to manage your stress levels well, sleep better, have more energy, and the list goes on. Your outlook on life will also change as you see yourself getting stronger and fitter. As your focus and drive for self-improvement become priorities, your confidence will skyrocket too.
Breakups are never easy, but always remember that there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel. Your ex-lover or friend may not see a future with you anymore, but that doesn’t mean that your life has to stop.
There’s definitely “good” in saying goodbye because you can channel all these negative emotions that you’re dealing with into something positive.
Don’t forget to use this tough period in your life for self-discovery, emotional maturity, and most of all, self-love.
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