New Yorkers Spend This Long Getting Over An Ex

It may be cuffing season, but that doesn’t mean everyone who is single is ready to mingle.

In fact, January is known unofficially as “National Breakup Month” because an increase of couples splitting up typically occurs during this month of the year. It is not entirely known why there is an increase in breakups at this time, but one can hypothesize that it may have to do with the rising pressure of the romantic holidays bubbling up.

As a result, some people may want to spend Valentine’s Day with their gal pals, and that’s completely ok. After all, it takes some time to get over someone you shared a part of your life with.

Over the last 30 days, web searches for the term “broken heart syndrome” have increased +5000%, according to a new survey from Compare The Market Australia.

The same survey gathered research from all over the nation, asking respondents how long it took on average for them to get over an ex, how it affected their everyday life, and how they coped with that heartbreak.

In New York state, the average person takes “8.66 months to recover from heartbreak.” When you are experiencing a broken heart, it is more challenging to do the things you normally would in life. Some of those effects from heartbreak include:

Loneliness due to socially isolating from friends and family (27%)
Lack of motivation and interest in things and hobbies that used to interest me (27%)
Sleeping either too much or too little (24%)
Increased stress due to the heartbreak (22%)
Weight gain or loss as an effect of heartbreak (20%)

For some people, depending on the depth of love and time spent with a person, the heartbreak could last longer than a typical one. In the event that it does, don’t beat yourself up about it.

Remember what Queen Elizabeth II said: “Grief is the price we pay for love.” To have loved and then lost, you must first love…which is a beautiful thing, even though it can burn us in the end.