Whether it’s your first, second or nth time being in a bad breakup, the feeling of loss will always come. You usually can’t do your regular chores well. Instead, you just want to curl up on your bed or eat a truckful of ice cream.
The people around you can understand when it happens for several days. You’re grieving for your broken relationship. You can’t switch off your emotions immediately. However, it’s impractical to stay in that state any longer than that since you may keep on spiraling down to the world of depression.
My suggestion is to find new channels to satisfy yourself and create a more meaningful and fulfilling life, with or without the other person. — Moshe Ratson, MBA, MS, LMFT
Below are what you should be doing to triumph over a bad breakup.
Eat Well
By that, we mean consuming healthy foods that will strengthen your body inside and out. The pull of comfort foods that may uplift your mood temporarily may be too much to handle, but remember that they’ll make you gain weight. The split may have already taken a dip in your confidence, but it’s better not to allow it to expand your body size too.
Meditate
When you want to reach for a cigarette stick or drink a glass of wine, try meditation. You tend to do the former if you’re feeling antsy. However, they can deliver various diseases to you over time. The latter, on the other hand, lets you find inner peace and kick your negative thoughts to the curb.
Speak Up
As you’re in the process of getting over a broken relationship, never push your close friends and family away. Talking about what happened and why it happened may lighten your emotional baggage. They can offer sound advice too and distract you from the memories of your ex.
Allow yourself to mourn, take time to mourn. — Karen Ruskin Psy.D., LMFT
Reflect
The most-used line of individuals who were left behind is, “What went wrong?” In reality, you know deep down where things started going downhill. Or, at least, you may have seen signs of it in the past, which you chose to take for granted. If you can’t recall them well, take a trip down memory lane and look back at the moments when (s)he made you unhappy. You may then be able to justify that breaking up was actually the right decision.
Write
In case you’re a total introvert, make a journal and let it be your new best friend. Jot down all your emotions and ideas there right when you’re feeling them, and be free to be as detailed as possible. It’s more reasonable to write on an actual piece of paper that you can bury later than on your Facebook or Twitter where anyone can comment on the matter and scramble your thoughts further.
Make daily time and space for embodying and expressing feelings through dance, art, or outdoor activities such as hiking or exercise. — Alicia Muñoz, LPC
Never Be Alone
Coping with your current single status is extra difficult when you don’t have a support system to lean on. Your family, we must say, is the best rock you’ll ever find. Should they be unavailable, your friends can also keep you company. Ask any of them to stay at your place and do activities together that will divert you from becoming depressed.