Relationship Advice: How to Know Months in Advance if Someone is Thinking About a Breakup
Can a person’s language patterns signal a breakup months in advance?
They say that actions speak louder than words, but words still carry weight. In fact, a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found certain language patterns that can predict a relationship breakup months in advance. Imagine knowing in advance that someone is thinking about breaking up!
How to Know Months in Advance if Someone is Thinking About a Breakup
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin, looked at more than 1 million Reddit posts from 6,800 users. Specifically, they looked at users who had announced they were breaking up and analyzed their posts a year before and a year after their breakup.
By analyzing the language used in the messages, the researchers found that breakups begin to affect people — and the way they talk. This happens three months before the breakup , and the effects tend to last about six months. And no, the main linguistic indicator wasn’t the use of sad song lyrics or sentimental quotes — it was actually the much more subtle use of pronouns.
How Pronouns Can Predict an Impending Breakup
Researchers found that people dealing with an impending breakup increased their use of “I” and “we” pronouns in the three months before the breakup.
Overall, the language of people who had broken up with a partner, as well as those who had broken up with one, also became less formal and more personal. According to the researchers, these changes may reflect a decline in analytical thinking and an increase in cognitive processing.
“These are signs that someone is carrying a heavy cognitive load,” said Sarah Seraj, MS, lead author and a doctoral candidate in psychology. “They’re thinking or working on something and becoming more self-focused.”
In general, people who are depressed or sad may start using the word “I” more often, Seraj explained. “When people are depressed, they tend to focus on themselves and may not be as considerate of others.”
Researchers have found that people display these language shifts even when discussing topics completely unrelated to the relationship, showing how all-consuming a breakup can be on someone’s life at a subconscious level.
Those who took longer to get over the breakup were more likely to retell their breakup story for months after it happened, which the researchers found made it harder for them to recover.
Conclusion
Opening up to others can help you cope with trauma or heartbreak , but ruminating on the pain for months online without proper support from loved ones, adequate sleep, and self-care can make it difficult to get over a tough breakup.
“It seems like before people even realize that a breakup is coming, it’s starting to impact their lives,” says Seraj. We don’t really notice how many times we use prepositions, articles, or pronouns, but these function words change in ways when you’re going through personal upheaval that can tell us a lot about our emotional and psychological state.
Paying attention to these subtle language changes can help people support loved ones before, during, and after a breakup. Be mindful of yourself and your loved ones.
Author: Greatpicture.ru
