Breakups are a process that each person endures in a different way. This grief tends to generate great stress among people who suffer from it, whose main concern is usually getting out of the trance. A task that, if you think about it, can be an arduous task: the photographs that still hang in your room, the notifications on your cell phone that remind you of the good times, passing day after day in front of the places you frequented together...
A love affair can also be the perfect opportunity to implement new changes in your life. If you lived together, surely now you can set up your bachelor pad, or you probably won't see the friends you had in common for a while. But if you want to do something that will take effect immediately, the best thing you can do is cut your hair. You do not believe it? Pay attention below to what professional psychologists say on this matter.
And you, what would you prefer if you stayed with your friends after breaking up? Do they continue to remind you of your ex-partner or do your hair become the new topic of conversation? Probably the second. The lifestyle magazine Harpers Bazaar has asked Dr. Jaime Zuckerman, an expert in narcissism, why we usually cut our hair after breaking up with someone and, according to the American psychologist, this decision responds to a desire for immediate distraction.
A change in look can be attributed to a situation of loss of control. Since human beings do not like unpredictability, cutting or dying our hair is the most accessible, visible and satisfying way to claim our autonomy in front of others. In short, it is a way to warn of the changes in our lives that are to come. On the other hand, this act also serves as a mechanism to avoid certain situations or people. Thus, a change of look is a way of presenting yourself as the new self, more confident in yourself, who wants to be admired and not asked about your ex.
Despite what it may seem, Dr. Zuckerman remembers that changing your look is not a sign of a chaotic life. On the contrary, cutting your hair is an ideal way to begin a new life stage (not just a breakup) and one that you may keep over the years if it really reflects your style. That is why, despite being an impulsive act, it cannot be lightly labeled as a “traumatic bang.”
A trauma is an identifiable experience or event that manifests itself in the form of intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, or panic attacks. Cutting your hair is a very different response, in no way traumatic, as it only responds to a possible episode of stress. It is an outlet that is beneficial for our mental health, which encourages us and helps us get through a difficult time. It is not a symptom of depression!
