Those missing an ex on Valentine's Day should remember that the source of their pain might not be love, but dopamine.
When a person is rejected, his or her brain releases dopamine, which can cause obsessive thinking and an intense emotional craving toward the rejector, according to a study.
UF freshman Kevin Olivier said he knows these feelings all too well.
Olivier said that although his girlfriend broke up with him four months ago, he still deals with these feelings.
"At first you start to think about what was wrong with you," he said. "But then you want them back more than you think you will."
After the breakup, Olivier said he thought about his ex and looked at her Facebook often.
Helen Fisher, who wrote several books on the topic, explains that rejected people feel abandonment rage toward their rejecting partner.
"Men and women can be furious at a rejecting partner, while still being very much in love with him or her," Fisher writes.
While being dumped does take a biological toll, it also has psychological and physical consequences.
"When you are rejected and emotionally hurt, the part of the brain that causes physical pain may light up also," said Ilan Shrira, a visiting UF psychology professor.
Shrira said people who are rejected often experience acute depression symptoms that last one to two weeks.
During this period, the rejected person may not be able to think rationally.
Shrira said that romantically rejected people lose their motivation and often need advice on how to get their life back on track.
UF senior Jessica Funk said after her boyfriend broke up with her she went through a phase where she felt bad about herself.
"It was more me obsessing about what was wrong with me that he didn't like, than me obsessing about him," Funk said.
