This article was written Christa Scgobba and provided by our partners at Men's Health.
Rebound and revenge sex are common coping strategies people use to deal with the raw pain of a breakup, suggests new research from the University of Missouri. But do they actually help you handle your split—or only make things worse?
In the study, 35 percent of college students reported engaging in rebound sex—to help ease their pain or boost their self-esteem—within four weeks of splitting with their significant others. Nearly one in four said they'd had revenge sex to “get back at” ex-partners during that same period.
Not surprisingly, people who had been dumped by their partners felt angrier and more distressed. They were also more likely to jump the bones of someone new.
(Feeling emotionally bruised from a breakup? Here’s a better way to recover from a broken heart.)
Using sex as an outlet for the negative emotions you feel about your breakup—like if you’re knocking boots just to lick your wounds, or to stick it to your ex—can create problems, though.
In fact, the study showed that people who used these emotions as fuel for sex remained hung up over their breakups for a longer time. After eight months, they were less likely to have settled into a new relationship than people who had post-breakup sex for more positive reasons.
Still stinging? Hold off on sex until your negative feelings subside, suggests study author Lynne Cooper, Ph.D. But if you feel a real spark with a new person and think sex could lead to a genuine connection with them, go for it, says Cooper.
