Research from a joint American-Australian study found that teen love feels life-changing due to the combination of a developing brain, surging hormones, and a lack of identity that leads to adolescents merging so that they feel not quite whole when apart.
According to Dr. Carl Pickhardt, a psychologist from the American and Texas psychological association, who led the study, teen love is often an infatuation, and it's different from the feeling of love experienced by adults. It is more moving for young ones as they feel it is a deeper relationship than any other they had experienced.
Dr. Vivenne Lewis, a clinical psychologist from the University of Canberra, who specializes in treating teens, stated that it was not uncommon for adolescents to be referred to her practice with severe depression following a breakup of a one-month relationship. According to Lewis, most teenagers experience infatuation in a relationship, a more consuming emotion than love.
Teenage breakups are far too different from adult breakups as the latter are more careful and can cope with painful situations as they are more mature. On the other hand, young ones are more infatuated and consumed by the situation, and that's the main reason why the separation hurts them as they invest a lot, per The Sydney Morning Herald.
Separation can cause trauma and mental health problems
Parents need to understand the fact that their children have feelings, and they need to validate such. Teenagers are overwhelmed by the endorphins and hormones that are not involved as they are not used to that experience which can pull them down. On the other hand, adults have experienced breakups as they have been through several relationships, making them knowledgeable enough to choose a partner and handle breakups.
Approximately 20 percent of relationships end in breakups, according to a study. Girls break up more often than boys for heterosexual relationships, and it is still not clear for same-sex romantic pairings. Teenagers usually cite nearly all sorts of reasons for breaking up, but the common one is the "It's not you, it's me." excuse.
Breaking up with someone is a significant risk factor for depression, and couples run the risk of missing an evolving and much more serious clinical depressive state.
When teenagers suffer from a breakup, they would not talk about it to their parents and would rather discuss it with their peers or post it on their social media. Teenagers are usually more self-silencing which means they don't like adults to be involved in their love life and would prefer hiding almost everything even though they are suffering on the inside, per The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds.
It could affect nearly all aspects
A University of Amsterdam study on rejection, published in the Journal of Psychological Sciences in September 2010, found that the heart rate slows down following a breakup. This explains why, when rejected, your heart seems to be breaking, according to psychologist Adoree Durayappah.
According to How to Adult, breakups are never easy, no matter what age, but for teenagers, they can be particularly devastating.
Such separation can affect them in almost all aspects, sometimes leading to self-harm.
Related Article : Teen Suicide Is Contagious; Signs and Causes to Watch For
