How to survive work while going through a heartbreak

Heartbreak is real and so is the pain. It is very normal to feel dejected, worthless and in pain after the end of a love relationship or a heartbreak, scientifically this is termed as “Broken Heart Syndrome” or “Stress Induced Cardiomyopathy”.

In simple language when you are emotionally wounded, the same region of the brain is stimulated as when you’re physically wounded. The pain of rejection, feeling of loneliness, and missing a huge part of your life is real, and they may have physical side effects and it is very normal to feel this way when you are actually mourning the end of a romantic relationship.

A recent?study in Journal of social psychological and personality science?confirmed when some people break up and lose their cheerleader, the loss has an impact on reaching their goals.

Managing heartbreak and work

As per the latest report millennials counts for 35% of the global workforce today and these are the people between the age range of 28-42 years so it is not wrong to say that there will be multiple people in the workforce today who are going through this phase in their life where heartbreaks are most common. And then there are generation Z joining the workforce as well.

And, the biggest challenge with handling these breakups and surviving work altogether is this that when there is some other sort of emotional turmoil like a demise in family most of employers and colleagues understand it’s going to be a tough time for you.??They may understand if you’re not as focused as usual, and oftentimes, may allow you time off, or to work from home or travel to be with family. But when mourning the end of a?relationship?, it might actually go unnoticed or earns the opposite reaction in the workplace – an employee is considered?unprofessional?if there is an impact on their productivity.??You may even be tagged as someone who lets your personal life affect your work.

There may be times that you may feel on the verge of tears or tempted to break down or to go to the bathroom and just cry or just not go to work at all but this can also not be denied that our work life is also the one of the most important parts of our life so we can’t just let go.

At first, you may be overwhelmed with sadness, find it hard to focus, or find yourself constantly thinking about what happened. But, if you apply some of the methods discussed below, you may find success in preventing your heart break from affecting your work. Let’s understand how to deal with it:

1.????Plan your day to look forward to throughout the workday

When it is a working day for you try doing little things for yourself, create moments that makes you happy like fetching your favourite coffee on the way to work, ordering lunch from your favourite place or wearing an outfit that boosts your confidence. Use these techniques to be kind to yourself.

2.????Confide in a peer or your work BFF

It is okay to be choosy about whom you share this personal news with. Confide in a peer whom you trust that he or she can listen to you without being judgemental. This can lead to the much-needed support. He or she can double check your assignments or can share little reminders that they are with you no matter what, it can be as silly as a message like “I want you to text me every hour” or “Get you a** back to work”.

3.????Share only as much you want

If you are a part of a lean and close knitted team there will be chances when people can be invading or intrusive, prepare yourself for this. There will be colleagues who can throw you questions like what happened? Why didn’t it work? What was the issue? And many more.?Answer as much or as little as you’re comfortable with; you can choose not to break the news to your co-workers at all.

4.????If you feel comfortable, let your boss know that you’re dealing with a personal problem and ask for some different or new project

To inform your boss about your breakup or not is a choice you can exercise because ?you would not want to be seen as an in-competent employee and it can be the other way also as maybe it brings you closer to your boss and makes your bond stronger. Reach out to him/ her and you can also request to give you something new and interesting to work which can keep you engaged and focused.

5.????Take a break

No matter how hard you try to be strong, there will be days when you will be blank and out. And this sadness can have a serious impact on your work. On such days allow yourself to wrap up a little early or maybe take an off and give yourself the time to grieve. It is important to make yourself realize that you want to move on but grieving is a huge and important part of healing. Give yourself that time if your body and mind are rejecting work.

This quote I recently came across resonates so well here, “Heartbreak and grief have a life of their own. It's like riding the?waves: sometimes they’re calm, other times turbulent and everything in between”— BIANCA L. RODRIGUEZ, ED.M., LMFT

The most important tip to remember when dealing with heartbreak is to be kind to yourself. Be mindful of the fact that what you are going through is real, painful and devastating but it is very human to feel this way. Just remember to love yourself and you’ll be back on your feet in no time.