The Burrow
Jan 19, 2024
Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, and while romance is in the air for loved-up couples, for people who are going through heartbreak, it’s just a day they want to be over and done with.
Fewer things are more painful than a broken heart, and there’s even a thing called broken heart syndrome, with symptoms including a heaviness on the chest, shortness of breath, and light headedness.
With that in mind, the health insurance extras cover experts at Compare the Market decided to survey Americans and Australians to see how long it takes them to get over a heartbreak, as well as how it makes them feel and what helps them to get over it.
And, while you might not necessarily be able to protect yourself from a broken heart, you can take out health insurance, which could provide financial support for select mental health and marriage counselling appointments, among other things.
So, read on to discover our survey results, and see if your experiences of a broken heart match up.
According to our survey, it takes just over 10 months for the average Australian to get over heartache and start putting themselves out there again. Two-thirds of Australians said they’ve been heartbroken more than once, and for an unlucky quarter, they’ve experienced heartbreak more than twice.
Australian women take longer to get over having their heart broken at 12.43 months, compared to 7.7 months for men. However, as an age group, Gen Z bounce back the fastest, taking just 5.33 months on average, to get over an ex.
The most common ways a heartbreak has affected Australians is either too much or too little sleep, and a loss of self-confidence; with 35% and 33% of people reporting these respectively. More than 30% of people also said they found it difficult to trust other people after having their heart broken, as well as feeling increasingly stressed and lonely, as they felt they’d isolated themselves socially from friends and family.
Music helps Australians the most with heartbreak, with 31% citing music as a major help; followed by spending time with loved ones, and watching films and TV, which a quarter of Australians do. Other things that have helped people recover from heartbreak include self-care and making new friends.
Americans recover slightly quicker from heartbreak than Australians, at 9.16 months; with almost two in five saying they’ve had their heart broken three or more times. Sadly, one in 10 Americans have experienced suicidal thoughts as an aftermath of their breakup, 25% have seen a decline in their mental health, and one in 13 say they’ve never recovered from their heartbreak.
The top ways heartbreak has affected Americans is, like Australians, too much or too little sleep, at 35%, followed by feelings of distrust in other people, loneliness, and increased stress, all experienced by 33% of survey respondents.
When asked how they get over their heartbreak, the two most popular answers were allowing yourself to grieve and feel your emotions, and listening to music, both at 31%. Other popular coping mechanisms include self-care, forgiving the person and moving on, and spending time with loved ones.
Interestingly, a few Americans said they’ve gotten into a new relationship to help get over their old one, with 14% also saying one way they cope is by going on dates.
Just 9% of Americans said they’ve sought professional mental health help; although this is much more popular amongst Gen Z, with 18% going down this route. Additionally, 24% of Gen Z are more likely to practice ‘bed rotting’ (staying in bed all day doing nothing), and altering their appearance… after all, haven’t we all gone through a post break-up haircut before?!
Whether it’s your first or your fifth, heartbreak never gets any easier. Hopefully these tips will help to mend your broken heart and leave you feeling happier and more confident.
A heartbreak is a loss, so it can help to treat it that way, by giving yourself time to grieve the loss of your relationship.
So, if you’re sitting there thinking to yourself that you shouldn’t feel sad, reframe it, and validate your feelings as: my relationship has ended, and it’s OK to feel sad.
Once you’ve gone through the grieving process, it’s time to start making yourself busy, so you can distract yourself from your feelings of sadness. Reach out to friends and family and start booking in social activities – whether it’s a coffee, meal, or full-on night out.
After a breakup, it’s also time to focus on you – so if there’s something you’ve always wanted to try but not gotten round to; put yourself out there and start enjoying your best single life.
Going through heartbreak can be a huge knock to your confidence – especially if you were the one that was broken up with.
Making a list of positive affirmations you can read on down days can be a huge confidence boost. So, whether you smashed it in a meeting at work, you did a good deed for a stranger, or you just really liked an outfit you wore that day; write it down!
Hannah Norton, spokesperson for Compare the Market states: “Going through a breakup can be an extremely difficult time, taking its toll both mentally and physically,” Ms Norton said.
“By having an appropriate private health insurance policy in place, you can take comfort knowing that it could help to reduce the cost of certain medical appointments, depending on your level of cover.
“For example, some policies will pay a benefit towards mental health appointments, and others include psychology for marriage counselling and other related matters.
“These can be little luxuries when you are suffering from tough times, and allow you the time and energy to focus on what really matters, rather than worrying about how you might afford to get the help you might need.”
Compare the Market commissioned 3Gem to survey 1,000 respondents across Australia and the United States of America in December 2023.