Going through a breakup can be incredibly difficult. It’s often for the best, but it can be hard to see it that way, especially if the decision wasn’t yours. Even if it was, a break up can still significantly affect your life and make you feel incredibly heartbroken. You’re losing someone who was a major part of your life and it’s normal not to feel okay in the beginning. The important thing to remember is that you will be okay, and your person is out there, you just have to give it some time. Here’s how to get over a breakup in a healthy way.
How to Get Over a Breakup
1. Allow Yourself to Feel Your Feelings
One of the worst things you can do is shove your feelings down and pretend you’re okay if you’re not. Give yourself permission to sit in your feelings and go through all the emotions. A breakup is significant loss and it’s important to acknowledge feelings of sadness, distress, and grief. Crying and wallowing can be the best medicine sometimes, so give yourself the time and space to do that. Put on a sad playlist, watch a sad movie, and just let your emotions out.
2. Lean on Your Support System
Lean on your friends and family and let them be there for you. Talk to them on the phone or FaceTime and spend time with them in person. It can be tempting to stay on your couch and wallow in self-pity, and while that’s okay to do sometimes, you need to balance it out. Laughing and doing fun things with people you love is a great way to heal and will also help take your mind off of your ex.
3. Remove Reminders of Your Ex
Having reminders of your ex everywhere is only going to impede your healing process. There are a number of helpful things you can do to get rid of reminders. If you have any of their physical belongings at your place, either return them, donate them, or at the very least box them up and put them in storage. You should also remove them from social media- unfollow them, block them, do whatever you need to do to keep your peace.
4. Invest in Your Relationship with Yourself
If your identity was wrapped up in a relationship that’s now gone, it can be normal to feel lost. While it’s important to keep your individuality in a relationship, the reality is that doesn’t always happen, or we get caught up in our partner’s interests and friends. If that’s what happened to you, it’s time to focus on yourself. Explore who you are outside of that relationship- what do you enjoy doing? Where do you like spending your time? Who do you like spending your time with? Figure out who you are and what you need to fill you up.
5. Practice Self Care
The time after a breakup is the time to really take care of yourself. Focus on acts of self care, like moving your body (in any way that feels good), journaling, reading, treating yourself to a massage, or buying yourself little treats. Meditation is also one of the best things you can do to take care of your mental health. It can help keep you in the present and stop you from dwelling on the past or worrying about the future.
6. Spend Time with Friends
Your best friends are some of the most important people in your life who are with you through thick and thin. Spend time with them doing things you enjoy, whether that means ordering Thai food and binging reality TV, going out to dinner, or trying new workouts together. Spending time with friends is so important after a breakup. They can help you feel better and get you back to doing things that feel like you!
7. Acknowledge Your Ex’s Negatives
Sometimes after a breakup (especially if you were the one getting broken up with), there’s a tendency to focus on all the things that made the relationship good and made it last as long as it did. It’s normal to sort of romanticize your relationship and only focus on the good things and why you’ll miss them. But there’s a reason why the two of you didn’t work out, and it’s helpful to take an objective view of your relationship. You may need to regularly remind yourself why you weren’t a good fit. It could be helpful to write down all the things (big and small) that bothered you about your ex and your relationship so you can see a clearer picture of why you broke up.
8. Talk to a Therapist
If you’re having a hard time working through your emotions, or if you’re crying day after day or for no apparent reason, consider talking to a therapist. They’ll help you work through your feelings and get back to you. A therapist will provide a safe space to explore your pain from the breakup, while also helping you cope with with difficult emotions, build your resilience, and embrace your independence.
9. Do Something You’ve Always Wanted to Do
Many times, when we’re in a relationship, we become comfortable in other areas of our life too. But now that you’re single, it’s time to do something you’ve always wanted to do. Take a solo trip, move cities, make a career change, start that hobby you’ve been putting off starting. The end of a relationship is a clean slate and can open up incredible opportunities if you’re open to it. It’s all about how you look at it.
If you’re going through a breakup, our hearts go out to you. We hope these tips can help you find some closure and move on in a healthy way.
This post contains affiliate links.
Did you find this post on how to get over a breakup helpful? We’d love it if you shared this post on Pinterest!
Looking for more relationship tips? Make sure to follow our All Things Women Board on Pinterest!
