On the heels of the most romantic month of the year, lets face it — love stinks.
Everyone's been through a messy breakup that left you feeling hopelessly alone, or stuck in unrequited love. Relationship woes can be a huge source of stress and anxiety for many people, and beyond being an unwelcome distraction, can actually cause physical harm.
See also: 25 Vintage Valentine's Day Cards That Will Melt Your Heart
Through heartbreak and heartache, there are plenty of reasons to feel down about your romantic life, but some facts about love are downright depressing.
Break ups are awful, but studies have found that being kicked to the curb may actually cause you to feel more passionate towards those who reject you. This can even lead to obsession and addiction.
It's well known that divorce rates in the U.S. are high, but one divorce nearly every 13 seconds is just depressing. Reports believe that rate will continue to rise as the economy does.
That flush feeling you get from being around your lover is not butterflies in your heart, but actually just a chemical releasing from your brain. Despite our often sentimental view of long-term relationships, researchers say that feeling of "romantic love" -- raised levels of a protein that has been linked to euphoria in new relationships -- slowly diminishes over time.
With potential access to your partner's every waking move or thought, social media can cause some serious stress in relationships including jealousy, and the pressures of open communication -- so much stress that one-third of divorce filings in 2011 contained the word "Facebook." Are you "Facebook Official"?
When experiencing heartbreak, our brain releases stress hormones, which can weaken our immune system, and leaves our bodies more susceptible to illness. Because everybody needs the flu after their belongings are tossed onto the street.
Heartbreak is terrible, but in some cases, can be quite literal. Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, known as "broken heart syndrome" is typically caused by emotional or physical stress. Hormones create a stunning effect on the heart muscles, which can cause temporary dysfunction, much like a heart attack.
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