Going through a breakup can be a challenging and painful experience. It’s normal to feel a range of difficult emotions – sadness, anger, confusion, loneliness. You may cry at unexpected moments, lose motivation to do things you previously enjoyed or question your self-worth.
It’s important to know that these feelings are normal, and with time and support, you can heal and move forward. Below are some tips on how to gain help and support during this challenging transition.
Seek Support from Friends and Family
While it may be tempting to isolate yourself, spending time with supportive friends and family can help ease the pain of heartbreak. Share what you’re going through with people you trust – let them know what you need during this time, whether that’s a listening ear or fun distractions.
Lean on your support network to vent, process your emotions, or briefly take your mind off things. Heartbreak can make you feel alone, so connection is critical.
Consider speaking with a counselling professional
An objective third party like a counsellor or therapist can immensely help during a breakup. They have helped numerous people through similar situations and can offer research-backed coping mechanisms.
Speaking with a counsel professional lets you dive deep into any pain points to work through residual feelings healthily. This can aid tremendously in healing as you transition into the next season of your life.
Practice Regular Self-Care
When grieving a relationship, taking good care of yourself is essential. Be gentle with yourself and make an extra effort to meet your basic needs. Stick to a routine, get enough sleep, hydrate, eat nutritious meals, and carve out time for movement or activities you enjoy.
Making self-care a priority helps stabilize your mood, boosts your resiliency, and reminds you that you are worthwhile – with or without your ex. Treat yourself kindly; you deserve comfort and care.
Allow Yourself to Feel the Emotions Fully
Breakups open the emotional floodgates, and suppressing your feelings often backfires. Allow yourself to fully feel and process the hurt, anger, sadness, relief, frustration – or whatever comes up. Journal your experience, talk to close friends, or see a counsellor.
Healthily releasing pent-up emotions prevents them from intensifying or resurfacing later. Remind yourself that the painful feelings are temporary, even if they initially feel constant. Naming your emotions and accepting them is critical to moving through them.
Avoid Numbing Behaviors
It can be tempting to numb emotional pain with unhealthy habits like overeating, excessive drinking, impulsive decisions or substance misuse. However, this often prolongs the healing process. These behaviours can quickly become crutches that prevent you from doing the hard inner work of recovery.
Instead, commit to facing your feelings head-on without pretence or quick fixes. Trust that you can navigate this, even during the challenging moments. Use healthy coping mechanisms that genuinely comfort you.
Cut Contact with Your Ex Initially
Having regular contact with an ex early on often reopens wounds and makes it harder to move on. As difficult as it may be, cut contact for some time – no texts, calls, social media stalking, or meetups. Removing these touchpoints aids healing.
Of course, limited contact may occur if necessary for legal or practical reasons. But be cautious, keep it brief, and have clear boundaries. Half-in-half-out relationships prolong the pain; creating distance can help you gain perspective.
Rediscover Activities You Enjoy
When recovering from a split, people often drop hobbies or interests they shared with their ex. While ditching reminders is temporarily more accessible, this shrinking of your world stifles healing long-term.
Instead, purposefully re-engage with activities that light you up – both old hobbies you’ve neglected and new pursuits you’ve wanted to try. Make plans with enthusiastic friends. Immerse yourself in what energizes you.
Be Patient with Yourself
There is no neatly defined timeline for healing from heartbreak. It’s not linear; there are ups and downs, good stretches and emotional setbacks. Go at your own pace and offer yourself compassion, not judgment.
Pay attention to any self-blame or criticism that crops up. Remind yourself that the relationship ending was not your fault, nor does it define your worth. With time and self-care, the intensity of the pain will pass. Growth takes patience, so breathe through it.
Ask for Help If Needed
While most people navigate breakups without needing intervention, seek extra support if their mental health declines significantly. Signs may include the inability to function normally, risky behaviours, suicidal thoughts, or getting stuck in severe depression or anxiety.
In these cases, contact a mental health hotline, make an appointment with a therapist, or speak to your doctor. With professional help, you can regain emotional stability and resume healing. You need not walk this road alone.
Heartbreak can be immensely painful, but support is available – from close ones and professionals. Implement self-care practices, process your emotions intentionally, cut contact if needed, speak with a Professional if you need extra support and be extremely patient with yourself. With time and care, your heart will heal more robustly than before. You’ve got this.