The Angry Therapist Podcast

Why Breakups Hurt So Much: Attachment, Grief, and Healing


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Why does a breakup feel like more than heartbreak?


In this episode, John Kim explores why breakups can feel like a death, and why that experience is rooted in more than emotion alone. Drawing from neuroscience, attachment theory, and years of therapeutic experience, he explains what happens in the brain after a relationship ends and why healing takes time.


John unpacks the hidden losses that often come with heartbreak, from the future we imagined to the identity we built inside a relationship. He also shares why recovery isn't about forgetting someone, but learning to create a new reality without them.


In this episode:

• Why breakups feel physically painful

• The role dopamine and attachment play in heartbreak

• How relationships become part of our emotional regulation system

• The grief of losing a future that never actually happened

• Identity loss after a breakup

• Why healing is really about rewiring


If someone in your life is going through a breakup, share this episode with them. Follow the podcast for more conversations on relationships, healing, and personal growth.


🎙️ More about John:

📘 Pre order my new book, Love Hard On Purpose. Toss the blueprints. Build something honest. https://a.co/d/031PzkW4

John’s book publishing company: Soulprint https://www.soulprintmedia.co

📘 Read John’s book in progress Sh*t Your Therapist Would Never Tell You on John’s SubStackHERE

If you’re ready for deeper work, the Secure Self course is available HERE

Order John's new book, Break Up. On Purpose,⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow John on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Find out more about John⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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The Angry Therapist PodcastBy The Angry Therapist

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