Q: I am a 26 years old man who broke up with his girlfriend 6 months back. We were in a relationship for 5 years but now she has broken all contact with me. I am unable to adjust with her behaviour. Different fears and negative thoughts keep haunting me again and again. I am feeling depressed and disheartened and cannot sleep well. My studies are also suffering because of this. How can I overcome this depression and concentrate on my studies?

A:Well, to a certain extent it is understandable to feel low and depressed at the breakup of a long relationship.

This can well be contributed to the extent of dependence on the relationship and the extent and quality of bonding, besides the suddenness of breakup.

In fact break up of a relationship can lead to reactions typical of loss: loss of self esteem, loss of self regard / self worth, loss of a person to relate to / talk to, and can leave one wondering about why did it happen to them etc and can further lead to grief.

The key here is if these feelings are increasing in severity over time and start affecting one's day to day functioning - one should take extra active efforts to seek help: like spending time talking about their feelings and the strength of their relationship to a Psychologist, keep busy in activities that they usually like through the day, and if things are unbearable consider visiting a psychiatrist for short term medications.

These reactions are quite common and easily manageable.