Limerence: Sponsored by My Own Imagination

Why is it that my one-month situationship emotionally crippled me more than a four-year relationship?

The answer is potential.

When you go through the stages of a long-term relationship, the initial potential eventually becomes clear. You either exceed it or fall painfully short of it. Either way, reality comes knocking.

But when a budding romance gets cut short, that potential is left on delivered.

Your imagination takes over, directing a torturous highlight reel of hypothetical best moments. Your first holiday. Your engagement in the Italian countryside. Your wedding in the South of France. Three children and a golden retriever called Max.