How have you successfully gotten over a breakup? I did not end the relationship and it was the most significant of my life. I feel confused and trying to understand why. I’m not sleeping well and my anxiety has decided to resurface. I’m ruminating. I don’t have many people to go to about this. Please don’t say I will find someone else, because I can’t go there right now. And I know it won’t happen anyway.
You will have a void, and you will need to fill it (with something positive or exciting or fulfilling) or it will turn into rumination. You have questions, and some of them will always remain unanswered - you won’t find comfort in an answer that isn’t coming, but you can always find comfort by letting go of the question. You will be at a loss as to who to be and what to do, but you will find it again once you start living again. You won’t know how to move on, until you have already moved on and this has all become a strange memory.
As long as you are moving forward, it is the right way forward. Try to stay busy. Consider joining a local activity group of some sort. If you find yourself orienting your mind or actions back toward them, understand that it is because you still have an emptiness and you are seeking comfort from it through old behaviors that will now only make it worse. No one knows what will fill it one day, but something or another will. You just have to keep walking until you reach that destination.
I’m very sorry you’re going through this. Someone broke things off with me and it still hurts, even if it has been a while. The first month was the hardest, then it gets easier bit by bit. What helped me was keeping busy with work, I had a lot going on to keep me distracted. I tried to do things that I didn’t do before, or that I wanted to try and never got the chance to do, or stopped doing when I got in the relationship. I found it important to try to enjoy my solitude, but that takes time. Go places, even if it’s very near you. I delved into my hobbies to keep my mind off of it. If you can, try to process things bit by bit, just don’t try to escape your feelings in the long run, that fucked me over(It’s been a while since I avoided processing my former relationship so yea).
It’s so hard. I’m sorry you’re going through this.
I can say time will help. And that is very true, but it doesn’t help you in this moment. But it’s something to think about.
Meditation helps. I was in such a bad place after a breakup. I had a constant feeling of panic and depression. I started to meditate. Guided meditations from online. I would seriously meditate for 1.5 or 2 hours every day, sometimes twice. It helped a little and it used up the time I would normally spend feeling miserable.
My attitude was to find ways to occupy my time so I couldn’t use that time letting my mind spin. I started saying “yes” anyone asked me to do something that would use up my time. I made some friends because of that, too.
Your world was shattered and you need a new baseline. One of the (many, many) painful elements of transitioning relationships is loss of routine. It feels like shit because when you hit that old routine, you give yourself a dose of pain as you’re reminded of your reality. Recognize that right now, your previous life is gone and routines need updated.
How do you think about things? I’m a visual, hands on, person. If it were me, I’d grab my digital notebook and start planning.
I need to plan the big beats of the day, and then let the other variables guide me.
I’d break it into three sections: My morning routine, afternoon, and evening.
How are important things like meals and work tackled? Don’t just think about these things, live them! Mentally think about work on Monday. Did your ex give you a ride? You need a new routine. Did they pack your lunch? You need a new routine. Did they cook dinner? Etc.
Finally, how do these routines change for the weekend? 3 more paths.
Good luck. This isn’t easy and it feels like shit. I hope anything I said is helpful.
DM me directly if you have and specific questions or want to share personal details that aren’t appropriate in a forum setting.
The best way to get over a breakup is to hook up with as many random people as possible. Take a couple nice pictures, set up a tinder/bumble/zoosk/hinge/badoo/whatever dating app you choose and just get out there and have a bunch of casual consensual sex. It’ll feel gross at first but just grit your teeth and power through because it’ll feel a lot better after a while
It might have worked for you, but it didn’t work for me. Actively trying to distract myself with girls didn’t fix the root of the problem. I hooked up with about 7 girls in 6 months and I only felt lonelier after. For me, it was kind of like those self-improvement, wake up at 4 am, grind-all-day type of programs. It worked while I was doing it, but as soon as I was still, all the feelings that I had been hiding/avoiding came right back. It was a distraction, not a solution.
What worked for me was thinking and time. At first, I ran from the feelings, but as soon as I realized they weren’t going anywhere, I just embraced them. I cried and cried, thought about how I felt when I cried, thought about my options, etc. Evaluating my life, actions, where I had been, and where I was headed helped me a lot. After a while, I decided to get fit, find my style (clothing, colors, facial hair, etc), and make friends. People can feel when you’re confident and satisfied. When you’re not just looking for something from them because you have it in yourself. People like that.
Life is good right now. I have a new partner, and even though I still sometimes think about my first real love, it’s not a feeling of longing anymore. I just think about the good times, and I have accepted that we won’t get back together. On the slim chance that we do, it will be many, many years from now.
That’s what worked for me, but it might not work for others. The only advice I ask OP to listen to, is to not go down the path of hate. Don’t hate your ex. Don’t hate women. Don’t hate the world. Now more than ever, platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Twitter, and others will push Andrew Tate, alpha male, content to you. This is the wrong path. I’m not sure of the nature of your relationship, but even if your ex was a bad person, that does not mean the rest of the world is. Learn to love people for who they are, and you’ll find satisfaction when you let go of expectations. Relationships are an add on to your life, not the final piece to the puzzle.
Give yourself time to heal because you deserve it. If hooking up with people helps, then go right ahead, but it did not help me.
I didn’t exactly end my relationship, either, but it ended because of me. I’m mentally processing it. In my mind, I focus on all the reasons it didn’t work until my mind comes to terms with it being for the best.
It also helps to get involved in some new hobby, service/volunteer experience, or creative effort.
Cherish the richness of the experience. Don’t try to get over it. Hold every little detail tightly in your heart. The pain, the love, the loss, the ecstasy. All of it. Soon enough we’ll all be nothing at all.
It only hurts because it was worth it. Don’t let yourself forget a single thing.
(and the tighter you hold on, the faster the sharp edges will wear away because nothing at all is ever even slightly fair.)
The best thing about breaking up with someone is that you’ll get to fall in love again.
Obviously don’t rush that or seek it out, but it will happen at some point.
I always think that breaking up from a decently long relationship is like losing a part of yourself - take your time and make yourself whole before trying to fill that void with the “easy fix” of starting a relationship with someone else.
How do you do that? It just takes time. Do things you love doing. Spend time with people who bring joy to your life. Embrace life! Say yes to new experiences. Be brave.
And then - probably when you least expect it - you’ll meet someone who makes you realise that breaking up was the best thing that could have happened to you.
I’m not sure how old you are, but I can say without a doubt that as an adult now, every single person I know is glad that their former relationships ended. Literally every single one.
I know right now it feels like “this is different” but trust me, it’s not. Everyone gets dumped, it happens, and it doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you or them. Odds are you just weren’t great together. And I can absolutely, positively, guarantee that you will come out better for this in the end. It will be super tough, but it’ll be worth it.
For now, let yourself feel sad, mourn the loss of the relationship, lean on your friends, and take everything one day at a time. All of a sudden, it won’t hurt anymore and it’ll feel so, so, so much better. Like, life just stopped punching you in the face repeatedly better. It’ll be so relieving and that’s when you’ll really start to figure things out. Don’t try to rush it, it’s totally worth it.
And make bad art. Nothing makes good bad art like heartbreak.
Grieve. Be kind to yourself, be kind to them. Allow yourself to feel without resisting the feelings. But don’t chase them either.
There isn’t a right way to feel for most of this.
Part of grieving is reflection (usually). Remembering good times, bad times and wish-they-were-different times. Find a way to be with those moments and accept them as they are: moments. They aren’t lost, just future ones will be different.
And that’s okay. Or it will be. And you’ll be okay, too.
I ruminate too. I tell myself it helps me learn, helps me grow, helps me remember not to “x”. It rarely helps. It’s just a conditioned response that makes me feel more control while i actually lose some.
What truly helps is healing. Learning that sometimes compatability isn’t a you tho Ing or a them thing. But it’s still a thing and somebody called the spade a spade.
If you weren’t up to your standards, then rise. Otherwise, coat yourself in patience. Listen to YouTube videos like Tara Brach. Be honest with yourself as you heal. We all have barbs, we all have scars.
Breakups can be pretty hard to cope with depending on how it ended.
The best advice I can think of is trying to think of it as an era of your life is now over. Those events from that era still have significance to you and will likely for a long time. And the best thing to do is not to dwell on them but look to the future.
What will this new era bring? Will you pick up those hobbies you’ve been thinking about but didn’t have the spare time for? Will you find new adventures in hobbies you already have? Will you focus on self improvement?
The best thing you can do is to let go.
They’re gone, they chose to move on. And now you will have to as well.
Yes they were incredibly significant to you, and for a time you were to them too. But just like eras in history those eras end and a new era begins.
Don’t dwell on the past and what could have been, you will only find pain there.
Look to the future for what could be.
And reach out to your friends/family and talk to them. It will be hard but open up to them about it. And if your family is just as supportive as mine, just your friends.
Here’s a brief(ish) personal story of how my most significant relationship ended.
Trigger warning: death and substance abuse.
A long time ago I was in a long-term committed relationship with 2 people (a man and a woman) I loved more than anything. Life was good for a time and improving. We had long-term goals for the relationship and our futures together.
Then some stuff went wrong that waa outside of our control, we could still achieve our goals but they would have been harder. We didn’t know how to handle it well. But we tried to stay on target.
Then more things went wrong that put us on a 30 day clock to sort out housing situation faster than we had hoped by a long shot.
We had nobody we could lean on for help, our only choice was to try our damnedest to make it happen.
We were running up to our deadline, stress was at an all time high.
We were working as many hours as we could trying to get the cash together faster then we thought possible.
She lost her job.
Then she died.
And a few days later he died due to drinking and driving.
Everything fell apart.
The era was over. And a new era had begun.
I handled it the worst way possible, I fell back into substance abuse.
And it took me 6 years to kick it.
Don’t do what I did, don’t lean into substance abuse (alcohol/drugs) they will only make the hurt worse.
When a relationship ends, you’re watching something die. You will have to grieve, like you do for any death. Not just grieving for the end of the relationship, but grieving for all the lost opportunities.  The trips you haven’t taken together, things you haven’t said to each other, the family you never make together.
Unfortunately, it sucks.
These things take time to process, understand, learn from, and eventually move forward with.
You need to adjust to a new normal. And that new normal should be busy. Schedule regular gym visits, classes, language learning, book club, cooking, guitar time, whatever. Productive routine is important and it will help stabilize you.
Sometimes, the pain you feel will be greater than you built in resources for dealing with pain. This is when you add professional counseling to healing regiment. Please sing feel too proud for therapy. Even online therapy companies like BetterHelp are a great resource.
Go out of your comfort zone and say yes to being with people. Invited for after-work drinks, or a birthday party you don’t really care about… go anyways. You don’t have to talk to them about the breakup, just being around others will help you feel less alone.
Also, do a little house cleaning. Rearrange some furniture, get some new clothes, change the rug - something so what you see marks a clear before and a clear after. Take a vacation if you have some PTO and resources. You don’t have to spend any money or go anywhere. Just go to a park and chill on a bench. Relax a few minutes a day.
At a certain point, will be looking forward to tomorrows more than you look back at yesterdays. It could be weeks, months, but it’ll be a sign you’re ready to date.
It takes time, your favorite music, whiskey, friends, food, pot, exercise, tobacco, sunshine, sports, chili cheese fries, boat rides or whatever you like. Just do you for a while!
I would not recommend addictive and harmful habits like smoking tobacco/pot and drinking as a coping mechanism, it can go real bad and can make it harder to get out of that hole again.
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