How to Fix a Broken Heart (TED Books)

I was drown to buy this book after listening to an interview you had on You tube. It was such a great book, that helped me seeing things in a different perspective and learned some techniques on how to cope with it. And thank you for sharing real stories. Writing down all the red flags, was great advice to get out of that funky space. Thank you

For those who have experienced heartbreak this book will provide a powerful guide out of the morass. Winch makes a strong point that heartbreak, as debilitating as it can be, is not treated with the same compassion as other losses and so the heartbroken are left to flounder. He also explains how a lot of what we do only compounds the misery 0 things like checking our exes social media or trying to figure out exactly what went wrong when, or what would have saved the relationship. One of his pieces of advice is to balance the view of the person whom you have probably idealized by listing out all their negative traits as well as the bad incidents in the relationship. This is not to vilify the person but simply to provie appropriate balance against the fantasy you have created - fantasies can't lose. It's also a fascinating revelation how heartbreak has a lot of similarity with drug addiction (and physical pain), based on brain scans, as the heartbroken seek a fix of their beloved. Probably underrated are the incredibly powerful illustrations in the book that starkly capture the various stages of heartbreak grief.

idk if i just didnt read the fine print or what but I didn't expect the book to be so little. Im by no means the world's fastest reader but it was so small I read the whole thing in like 2 hours. Its only 100 pages and about 15 pages are just pictures. The message was good and pretty informative but it didn't quite live up to the hype for me personally. Maybe It will for you, so I say still give it a shot

Offers good perspective for my recent heart break. I've lost a dog, a boyfriend, and my dad. I found this short read quite interesting to know how our body physically responds to an achey heart. It didn't fix my broken heart, but it did help me recognize why I was responding the way that I was, and how to take healthy steps so as not to trigger unhelpful emotions. I think this is a good read for anyone, even if only to understand other people and their heartache better. Heartache shouldn't be taboo.

I bought this book after hearing the TED Radio Hour on falling in and out of love. One of the segments was with Guy Winch and many of the points he made resonated with me. Guy focused on two types of heartache: the broken heart that comes from the loss of a romantic love interest; and the loss of pets. Guy chose these two because our societal structure allows much less social and institutional support and compassion than say divorce or the loss of a loved one, even though the emotional distress may be just as large. He points out that effective coping and processing techniques are rightfully more important in these cases because one's support network is smaller. While I agree with all his points, as I read it became obvious that there is general applicability to these techniques to ANY form of loss or hurt. And as I read I saw in myself many of the bad habit I've learned that have made resolving past hurts of all types difficult or impossible. While there is no guarantee that I will be able to effectively use all the wisdom contained in this book, I have no doubt that I will be much more self-aware and much less self-deceptive as I deal with disappointment, heartache and loss in life. Not just the challenges of today, but those from my past that are not fully closest, as well as those tomorrows events that have yet to make their mark. I've already asked my wife to read it, and I'll see if I can get my kids to read it too. They're both young teens and are just starting to deal with the emotions of adolescence. I with I'd had these tools when I was younger!

I thought this was thoughtfully written and gave great insight as the causes of heartbreak. It had real life examples and also gave information and tips for coping with heartbreak. I was so drawn in that I read the entire book in one afternoon. Perfect for anyone going through heartbreak to to a romantic relationship or loss of a pet.

So far really liking this book. The suggestion to make a list about the not so great qualities as well as thinking about negative cognitions has been helpful. My issue though is the example of the gal who had the boy friend who took her on a romantic getaway and then set up a romantic dinner to break up with her. This guy is NOT a nice person which Dr. Winch seem to think. A nice person who isn’t sure about someone he’s been dating for over 6 months would likely go away by themselves to seek clarity or have a heart-to-heart with their gf/bf in private and in person. I’m sure there was sex and romance on this trip to only further cement what felt like genuine love to the girl. That is very inconsiderate and selfish on this guys parts. He shows his true colors further by taking her to a very nice and romantic restaurant which I believe was one of their favorites to break up with her. This is not a nice guy. He didn’t have heart, consideration or respect because if he had, she would have known much earlier on that he was having doubts. His actions showed who he was. I realize he’s cultivated a different image but actions don’t lie. So, the book definitely has some good things going on, but that example was a big miss for me since the guy was clearly not considerate, or nice yet the book seems to condone his inconsiderate behavior. Ask any woman...we don’t want an unsure man to act like he’s feeling it too, and then boom, sorry, just kidding.

Excellent book with great tips on how to heal after a divorce, break up, or any loss. The author makes me feel normal for having all of the thoughts and feelings I’ve been going through. Plus, there are a lot off very practical do’s and don’t’s to help the healing process go faster and to not make things worse. I highly suggest this book!

Knowledge is power. This book, extremely well written, will provide you with tools to help the healing process after a breakup. Indeed, as the author specify, time is our most powerful weapon against a breakup, however there are bad habits that we need to avoids and also there are teqniques that we may adopt in order to heal as soon as possible. I have never known how to deal properly with a breakup, finally thanks to this book I have understood that there is something that I can do in order to help myself. Absolutely recommended.

I love this scientific and yet compassionate approach to dealing with heartbreak. This book deals with the type of heartbreak that's often diminished in our society and offers practical support and a caring approach.

I read this in one setting, desperate to understand why I felt like I was loosing my mind in the early weeks of an agonising breakup. Truly a life saver to understand how my brain and body were working at this time. Extremely helpful advise, even though some felt near impossible to do (no contact).

i heard the Guy Winch podcast which motivated me to buy the book , i always had a real struggle after a breakup , and specially i was always feeling misunderstood about my feelings great tool that helped me and close people to understand the breakup state of mind and body

Um dos melhores livros que já li sobre relacionamentos (ou sobre o fim deles). É uma visão científica, mas com muita empatia, sobre os nossos corações. Vale a pena a leitura.