Most of us were never given language for what we experienced growing up. We knew something felt off — but without words for it, we adapted. We kept going. It can take years to realise that what shaped us wasn't only what happened. It is also what didn't happen.

A breakup can shake us to our core — sometimes in ways that feel bigger than the relationship itself. Counsellor Caroline Ballard explores why heartbreak hurts so deeply, what it triggers in our attachment system, and how we can find our way through.