On Attachment

Snapshot · On Attachment

#131: On Getting Back Together with an Ex

Explore episode Feb 14, 2024

Where this was said

Bad Reason #1: Just Missing Them

At 16:45 · chapter starts 14:35

Stephanie begins her framework with the most common and seductive bad reason: the emotional pull of missing someone. She's emphatic that this feeling, however overwhelming, is almost always present after a breakup and tells you very little about whether getting back together is wise. Many people mistake the discomfort of grief as a signal that they made the wrong call — that if the breakup were truly the right thing, they wouldn't feel so awful. So they scramble back to the familiar comfort zone of the relationship, not because it was working, but because the alternative feels unbearable. The problem, Stephanie notes, is that none of the underlying issues will have been resolved in that scenario. Love is necessary but not sufficient — you need more than mutual longing.

Society & Culture
Fear of Being Alone Is Not a Love Story

#131: On Getting Back Together with an Ex · Feb 14, 2024 Society & Culture

Getting back with an ex because you're demoralised by dating, or scared of being alone, isn't a romantic reunion — it's scarcity thinking. It's unfair to your ex and dishonest to yourself, and it's unlikely to create the relationship you actually want.

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