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When you’ve loved somebody for a long time, and then it…

“When you’ve loved somebody for a long time, and then it stops, it’s akin to an amputation in that you go on feeling the cut-off part long after it’s been taken away. All sorts of nervous and emotional impulses set out to travel to their accustomed stations, and when they come up against the new…” quote by Lynne Reid Banks
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““When you’ve loved somebody for a long time, and then it stops, it’s akin to an amputation in that you go on feeling the cut-off part long after it’s been taken away. All sorts of nervous and emotional impulses set out to travel to their accustomed stations, and when they come up against the new, raw barrier, they’re carried through it by their own impetus, and only then, finding themselves shooting through empty space, do they dwindle and die away.””

Lynne Reid Banks

About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Describes love loss as an amputation, with lingering emotional impulses seeking familiar pathways, leading to emptiness.

In simple terms: Love loss feels like a painful amputation.

Key Takeaway

Allow grief to pass rather than cling to emptiness.

Themes

grief loss psychological

Mood

sad reflective

Type

emotional psychological

When to use this quote

  • breakups
  • bereavement counseling

Key Concepts

attachment theory emotional processing

Questions to Reflect On

  • How can I heal after love ends?
  • What new pathways can I create?
A Different Perspective

May romanticize suffering.

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