Healing Break Up Wounds
People deal with breakups in many different ways. Some eat through it, some pretend it never happened, while others dwell in the depths of despair. Healing breakup wounds though is much like getting over any other loss. Grieving is natural, but you have to move on eventually, no matter how much you’d rather just lie in bed.
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Instructions
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Allow yourself to grieve. Your friends and family may say that its all for the best or that everything happens for a reason, but clichés don’t do much to heal the pain. Take some time just for you and vent your feelings.
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Journal through it. Writing allows you to be brutally honest about your feelings and your pain, and gives you a way to be introspective. By the time you are done, you’ll feel like a weight has been lifted and you don’t need to whip your friends with all the details.
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Change your scenery. Favorite places can hold painful memories, so branch out and try some new restaurants and bars. Rearrange your living spaces to give yourself a fresh start and help break you out of the post break up funk.
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Get moving. Physical activity helps release serotonin and will help fight depression. Take a new yoga class or join a gym to help not only get you out of the house, but to give you some new energy.
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Treat yourself to a spa day or makeover. Get a new haircut and color or go in for a massage for some pampering. Don’t do anything radically different that you may regret later, but make a few changes to again, make you feel fresh and new. Take a friend along and make a day of it.
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Reflect. Once you have a little distance from the break up and can look back at the relationship with out crying, find the lesson. We learn something from every interaction we have with others, so think about the relationship clearly to see what mistakes were made and what experiences have helped you to grow.
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Start a list. Create a list of things you want to do, places you want to go and people you want to reconnect with. Look at the list on those days when you feel depressed to help get you motivated to leave the house and interact with people. Plan a dinner with friends at least once a week and be sure to pamper yourself somehow each week as well.
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Tips & Warnings
Rely on your friends. Tell them you do not need advice, but companionship and let them help you fill your free time.
Don't jump back into dating right away. Give yourself time to get over the break up and then slowly re enter the dating scene.
Resources
- Photo Credit frank_l_ludwig ~ flickr
