It has many stages, and the first is usually shock or denial. After this, and the words of your once beloved have sunken in, it will feel as if your heart is literally being ripped out. This is because you will experience pain such as a tightening in the chest, stabbing pains in the chest, very heavy breathing, and an increased heart rate. You may diagnose yourself with a panic attack, but this is usually not the case. For some period of time (usually a few days to a week) you will feel as if you have an extreme case of an anxiety, and you may not like the thought of eating, for every time you do, it seems that the food will come right back up. Lack of sleep is very common, and you may be convinced that you are suffering from insomnia. Tears and crying also play a major role, but after about a day you will find that you no longer have any more tears to cry.