Lovesickness

Bibek Raj Adhikari Lifestyle experts have repeatedly emphasised that fatty foods, obesity, lack of exercise, etc. can all lead to heart disorder. Now, however, cardiologists and researchers are also confirming that the concept of lovesickness might be more than just a poetic notion, that it can burden the afflicted with mental trauma which, in more serious cases, can also lead to heart attacks with fatal consequences - thereby supporting the wisdom of poets and philosophers. Doctors have named the affliction “ broken heart syndrome” resulting from emotional stress caused by heartbreaks, the death of a loved one or even separation, depending on how one takes it and tries to get over it. Researchers seem to agree that fatal consequences follow in cases where one's heart is already at some risk.Falling in and out of love spurs changes in the body. When a person is in love, the heart speeds up and the pupils of the eye dilate. When a couple breaks up, the immune system slows down and the individuals concerned become prone to illness. Answering a question if a person could die of a heartbreak, Dr Bhagban Koirala, international cardiologist at the Shahid Gangalal hospital in Kathmandu said, “There is no doubt about it. Break-up and bereavements can cause death.” From personal observations and anecdotal evidence, he says that several people who had suffered heart attack had been through an emotional upheaval. “The first month after a break-up or the death of a spouse is crucial.”Dr Koirala elaborates that the loss of an emotional anchor tends to drive some to find solace in alcohol while some fall into depression, become careless and is more likely to get into accidents. “They do not care what happened to their life any more.” He further said that sudden emotional bursts create a demand for more blood supply, sometimes causing stress that the heart cannot handle. The heart develops an arrhythmia, marked by irregular heartbeats, because of which the individual can die. At other times, emotional stress causes individuals to develop new block in their arteries or to develop blocks over the existing ones. The concept of lovesickness might be more than just a poetic notion as it can burden the afflicted with genuine mental trauma. For many centuries, the manias, depression and obsessions associated with romantic love were considered a genuine state of mind rather then an affliction, said Dr Frank Tallis, clinical aetiologist and the author of this study. He added that in the past two centuries, however, lovesickness had fallen out of favor as a proper diagnosis.In the modern era, “The average clinical psychologist will not receive referred letters from general practitioners and psychiatrist mentioning lovesickness. However, careful examination of the sanitized language will reveal that lovesickness may be the underlying problem,” Dr Tallis noted