It is believed that most of us will experience an average of three breakups by age 30, with at least one affecting us strongly enough that it substantially decreases our quality of life for weeks or months.
According to one study from Binghamton University, women experience more emotional pain following a breakup. However, when they recover, they do it fully unlike the men. Most men simply move on but never fully recover.
The lead author on that study said the difference boils down to biology. Women have more to lose by dating the wrong person.
He argues that women invest far more in a relationship than men. “A brief romantic encounter could lead to nine months of pregnancy followed by many years of lactation for a traditional woman, while the man may have ‘left the scene’ literally minutes after the encounter, with no further biological investment. It is this ‘risk’ of higher biological investment that, over evolutionary time, has made women critical when selecting a high-quality mate. Hence, the loss of a relationship with a high-quality mate ‘hurts’ more for a woman.”
Men on the other hand, are evolved to compete for the romantic attention of women; the loss of a high-quality mate for a man may not “hurt” as much at first. “The man will likely feel the loss deeply and for a very long period of time as it ‘sinks in’ that he must ‘start competing’ all over again to replace what he has lost — or worse still, come to the realization that the loss is irreplaceable.”
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