Have you fallen in love with someone, it may be one-sided, but yes, you might have feelings for someone. When both of the partners have feelings for each other, they create a successful, loving relationship, but what if the love remains unrequited or one-sided? One-sided love is a situation in which an individual has romantic affection towards another individual who does not feel the same, it is very common to experience. It is so painful and mentally stressful at the same time. One-sided love has major impacts on the mental health of the individual. This article will cover what one side of love is and how it impacts our mental health and at last, there will be some tips for coping with one-sided love.
A person develops one-sided love because of several reasons:
Unavailability:
It can be a possibility that the person you love is not romantically available for you. They may be in a relationship with another person or having a difficult phase in their life.
Unrealistic expectation:
Sometimes we idealize an individual that they are us even before meeting them. This sets some unrealistic expectations of portraying love. This leads one to have one-sided love and feel heartbroken.
Poor Communication:
Not confessing feelings and not initiating communication can develop one-sided love. If you don’t initiate proper communication with the one you have feelings for, they might never know you are interested in them.
Attachment Style:
Attachment style also plays a great role in one-sided love. If a person has an anxious attachment style, it is more likely for them to experience one-sided love. As they will quickly fall in love with someone and remain in that relationship even if that is unhealthy.
One-sided love has a major impact on the mental health of the individual. The emotional and psychological effect of unrequited love is so destressing and overwhelming. People can experience different types of impacts, some can experience difficulty in concentration, sleeping, and eating. Some may withdraw themselves from social settings, they start limiting themselves from opening up socially.
Another major impact of one-sided love is:
Depression:
Rejection can lead one to feel worthlessness, sadness, and hopelessness. If these feelings are there for the long run, they can be changed into a major mental problem called Depression. One should overcome the feeling of rejection as much as possible. Thinking about the same thing again and again can create mental distress.
Anxiety:
One-sided love can cause one to develop fear and anxiety. After the rejection, an individual can feel anxious about their future. They develop a fear of future relationships. They start worrying about their actions and reactions.
Low Self-esteem:
One-sided love often damages the self-esteem. Individuals often start thinking that they are at fault and they are not worth enough to be with someone.
Obsessive Thoughts:
One-sided love hinders the day-to-day life. Individuals think too much about their loved ones and these obsessive thoughts interfere with the daily functioning of life.
Isolation:
The feeling of rejection overwhelmed them and they started limiting themselves to going out socially. They start spending their days and nights alone without speaking to someone and just overthinking.
Physical Changes:
One-sided love also impacts physical also, a person starts losing appetite, headaches, and sleep disturbances, mainly insomnia and these physical changes influence mental stress adversely.
Suicidal Thoughts:
These feelings of rejection can be adverse to mental health and a person starts thinking about quitting their life. One-sided love may feel like they have no reason to live their lives, and it’s better if they quit living, they may also feel like they are a burden to others.
One should not feel stagnant and one-sided love is so normal to experience, but one should channel that rejection in a positive manner. One can cope with the feeling of one-sided love in the following ways.
- Allow your emotions to come out: Allow your emotions to come out if you are feeling sad or angry, it is better to show emotion instead of bottling it up.
- Avoid contact with the one you love: Making contact with the one you have one-sided love can freshen up the pain. Instead of that avoid making contact with them.
- Talk to someone you trust: Instead of locking yourself, you should talk to someone you trust and share every bit of emotion. This will help you to introspect the feelings and emotions you are having and also the trust person will help you to feel less negativity.
- Focus on yourself: Make yourself a priority. Instead of wasting time crying over someone who does not even care for you the way you want, one should focus on themselves.
- You Deserve someone who loves you back: Wait for the right time, you will surely get someone who loves you the way you love them. Just don’t settle for less.
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