Dating myth or reality? – The time to recover from a break-up equals to the total time spent together
Last Update : March 1, 2017
Recovering after a break-up is one of the hardest things in life.
For some people to move on after parting ways with their long-term partner is harder than for others.
Some studies suggest that people tend to spend a specific amount of time recovering after putting an end to a relationship.
How long, on average, does take to people to get over an ex-partner?
The dating hypothesis: the time to recover from a break-up is proportional to the time spent together as a couple
For many years, there has been the idea that the time you spend forgetting your partner correspond to the amount of time you and your ex-partner have actually been together.
So, if for example you were in a six-month relationship, you were likely to spend half a year trying to close that chapter and start a new one.
Other dating and relationships experts also suggest that the time to recover after splitting-up consists on the time you have been together as a couple divided by two.
That means that if your commitment lasts for two month, you probably are going to be another year to completely leave the past behind.
In 2015, a study was published in The Journal of Positive Psychology that showed the relationship and breaking-up habits of 155 people.
The results showed that, on average, people spend around 11 weeks to recover after a rupture and 18 months in case of divorce.
Getting back on your feet after separation is different for men and women.
Men’s perspective
Most people believe that men can easily leave their feelings to one side and recover faster after a break-up.
However, this is far from reality.
In 2015, a study carried out by New York’s Binghamton University jointly with the University College London showed evidence that it is true that men are more likely to get over a break-up faster than women.
Nonetheless, considering the responses of the men from the group of 6000 people questioned, they do not recover 100%.
For most men, there are always some thoughts about how important and the impact their ex-partners have had on them
This theory has been confirmed by the author and researcher Craig Morris who, after conducting some investigations, suggests that man “come to the realization that the loss [of a partner] is irreplaceable” right after the break-up.
Basically, it is realizing that what you had was worth it once it is gone.
Women’s perspective
For women is a different story. They are capable of recover 100%, but the process is tougher.
The positive aspect is that females tend to learn something from the experience of breaking-up and they end up feel stronger after it.
The negative one is that they usually need more time than men to get over separation because the recovery was harder.
In fact, the same survey showed that physical suffering and emotional pain levels were higher on women than men.
The questioned had to rate from one to 10 their emotions after a break-up.
Regarding emotional grief, ladies averaged 6.84, while men 6.58.
In terms of physical suffering, women averaged 4.21, while men 6.58.
Dating myth or reality?
Out there, there are many dating theories about how long needs a person to recover from a break-up.
The most recent evidence, which has been proven by dating and relationship experts, shows that the average time to get over your ex-partner is around 11 weeks.
However, every couple and relationship is different, so it is the recovery.
In fact, there are substantial differences in the way men and women move on after separation.
After analysing the data available nowadays, it seems that long-time hypothesis suggesting that the time to recover after a rupture is proportional to the total time spent together as a couple is a dating myth!