We All Can Die From Broken Hearted

It hit me long time ago, as I saw in some families, when one member of the family (be it the parent or the child) died due to some reasons, the other member of family will also die in the following weeks. It occurred to me back then, whether there might be some logical explanation that can justify why the other member of the family can die too? Is it dying because of broken hearted? Because of unbearable grieve and sorrow?

It turned out that this actually has a logical explanation behind it. I saw the news several days ago about dying because of broken hearted.

The fact is, you can die when someone you love dies, especially if the person is your partner or your child. This is due to increased risks of heart attack, according to Dr Thomas Buckley, a researcher and lecturer at the University of Sydney.

Based on their research, the bereaved people experienced:

• psychological symptoms such as anger, depression, anxiety.


• physical symptoms such as reduced sleep, reduced appetite, increase in blood pressure and stress hormones, changes in immune system and blood clotting

The biological risk of heart attack is most intense in the first few weeks after the death of the loved one. But it decreases considerably 3 months after the death, and still continue to reduce down to 6 months (at this point, the researchers stopped measuring).

What's worth noting is that it's not just older people who are at increased risks of a heart attack. Younger people are also at significant high risks of a heart attack.

It is recommended for people to be prepared for death as this seems to be very important. And also having the right social support also helps greatly.

Is Love Really Blind

The cliche, love is blind, you must heard it like thousand times. In early stages of relationship, our partner would seem so perfect and flawless. And it is true that we tend to gloss over our partner's faults. Then comes the time when parents drag our feet on the ground, and tell us that love will pass by after you stay together for a long period of time (like they all do in their at least 30 years of marriage). Some of my relatives even use coke (as in drink) as a metaphor to love. When it is new, it is full of bubbles (to describe hot and passion), however over time, the bubbles will fade away.

And so, we would all come to the understanding that living with your partner would expose their flaws, and thus open our eyes to see clearly who he/she really is as a person. The love will fade as we see more and more flaws and bad habits of our partner.

What I found interesting is that, researchers studying married couples have found that in the happiest marriage, the overrating habit continues. And in fact, it is the glue that keeps the couples together happily ever after!

Indeed, the happy married couples usually are those who tend not to notice their partner's faults, and tend only to remember good times they have been through together. This way of thinking keep them happy, and also good their health. Couples who see things this way tend to have less chronic disease. This is due to how they resolve their conflicts. When it comes to conflict, these couples would sit down and talk about the issue in a calm and rational way. They listen to each other's opinion and/or complaints. And this way, they are less exposed to stress hormones, which are associated with illnesses such as heart disease.

And interestingly, this overrating habit only need to exist in one partner, for the effects to be seen. Knowing this, you do not have to worry nomore when friends or parents telling you that love will fade as time passes. The formula for happy marriage is quite simple. If you are an easy going person, there is higher chance for you to live healthy and happily ever after in your marriage. And if you are more to a serious person who tends to be pessimistic at times, you should find an easy going partner. As easy as that!