
After a breakup, someone may miss companionship, physical affection, routines, emotional support, shared activities, or simply having someone to talk to.
Those experiences were associated with the former partner, so they can easily feel like one emotion.
But wanting those parts of a relationship again doesn't necessarily mean the specific former relationship was healthy or should resume.
Attachment, loneliness, habit, nostalgia, and romantic desire can overlap without being identical.
This is one reason post-breakup feelings can be so difficult to interpret.
Sometimes “I miss them” contains several completely different kinds of missing.
© Personal Relationships