Unfortunately men may never recover fully from a breakup. The thing which confounds it in your case is she will drift in and out of your life on a whim, disrupting any healing process that you may have initiated and you have to start over before you've pulled yourself out fully out of the well of despair. The first step is recognising that you're never really truly going to give up on this woman/relationship because you have so much invested in it and as a man it's impossible to give up on the one true love - or what you think is the person capable of being it (but hasn't been that way).
I would completely disagree with this. You read too much "studies" and "articles". There have been many men who have completely recovered from a serious break up. Recognizing that he'll never truly give up on this woman? There has been many men who realized it's for the best and truly gave up on it. If you can't give up on it due to big investment, that's simply the working of the ego that, if recognized, can be reversed.
A man should also realize there is no such thing as one true love. True love exists. Not ONE true love.
The scientific method is limited in its OBJECTIVE process to measure and understand SUBJECTIVE concepts such as emotions, creativity, imagination, consciousness.
The word "never" is a simple word used to fit with the limited mind. The mind is simply the product of all the knowledge and information gathered throughout our learned experiences and uses these information to logically get from A to B to C. It can only comprehend with things that are measurable and fits in with what you have learned. If it doesn't and can't understand, this creates that "fear of the unknown" humans are famous for.
This is classic example of human beings still in its primitive stages. To constantly rely on our analytic mind will not get us anywhere we need to be. Abstract concepts such as creativity and emotions were there first when we were babies and then we learned logic. Creativity and emotions were there in our ancestors and using these infinite concepts, we invented logical thinking to use as tools, NOT to take over as the primary way of living.
Other peoples studies will not do much good for someone in Chris's situation. Any study is limited by the limited mind of the measurer. This can work in some instances in dealing with purely analytic concepts, but when it comes to abstract concepts, it won't work.
The root of all suffering is a result of the ego, and the realization and exploration of this leads to peace. If you understand how the ego is creating the suffering, then you can transcend it. My advice therefore, would be meditation. Try it with an open mind. It is not a religious thing at all. People from all religious, spiritual, atheistic backgrounds use it. It is just a practice, one of you and your mind (which is responsible for all suffering).
Man's biggest flaw is relying on the analytic mind and forgetting that it is our abstract mind (consciousness, creativity, emotions, etc...) that INVENTED the analytic mind (language and logic, etc..). The createe (is this a word?) cannot understand its creator. This is why trying to understand the emotions on a logical level won't work.
