Why It’s So Hard to Break Up With Someone (Even When You Need To)
Breaking up is hard to do. Even when all the signs are telling you that this person isn’t right, why do we want to stay? Dr. Nerd Love breaks it down.
Occasionally, I’ll get an email from a reader who isn’t asking for advice so much as they are asking for permission. And nine times out of ten, what they’re asking for is permission to break up with their significant other… because they can’t manage to convince themselves that they need to. One of the most perverse aspects of being human is how hard we fight against our own best interests. Our brains are prone to a host of psychological effects and fallacies that convince us that we shouldn’t finally pull the trigger and end that toxic relationship, even though it’s making us miserable.
Maybe you’ve had a friend who knows he needed to dump their toxic girlfriend. Maybe you got tired of slamming your head into the brick wall of their obstinacy as you watched their drama and misery unfold in real time on Facebook, stunned that they didn’t realize how miserable they are.
Maybe you were the one who needed to break up with your partner. God knows I was. I stayed in an emotionally abusive…
