Learning that your significant other has been cheating on you can be a disastrous situation. But not only does it affect you mentally and emotionally, it can also be physically detrimental.
According to a study published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, the decisions made by someone who has been cheated on can be seriously damaging to one’s physical health.
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Researchers noticed a connection between mental health and engaging in health-compromising behaviors, such as binge drinking, binge eating and drug use.
The study surveyed 232 college students who had been cheated on within the past three months, with an average relationship length of 1.76 years. M. Rosie Shrout, the lead researcher, said the results they got were along the lines of what they expected.
“As we expected, people who experienced more emotional and psychological distress after being cheated on engaged in more risky behaviors,” she said.
“They were more likely to eat less or not eat at all, use alcohol or marijuana more often, have sex under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or over-exercise. Being cheated on seems to not only have mental health consequences, but also increases risky behaviors.”
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In other words, heartache is just as brutal as you’d probably expect.