Breakups can make you feel as if your world has been turned upside down. You might feel an intense range of emotions, including excruciating pain, sadness, confusion, anxiety, anger, despair, and even hopelessness. Even if the breakup was for the best, at first it can be an adjustment as you come to terms with reality and your new relationship status. Taking care of yourself and being self-compassionate will help you get through your breakup and move on with your life. Here are some ways to put it in action:
- Do things you love to do – During the painful period after ending a relationship, experiencing moments of joy can make all the difference. Often, being in a relationship means spending less time on the things you love, since a lot of energy goes into accommodating your partner’s lifestyle. Now is a great time to re-discover hobbies, activities, and interests that make you happy and re-connect with friends and other loved ones.
- Exercise to release your pain – Moving your body helps you release energy, which includes emotions, thoughts, feelings, and anything else you’re holding inside of you. Let it out by dancing, spinning, walking, running, lifting weights, going to a group fitness class, or engaging in any form of movement that leaves you feeling lighter and happier.
- Journal about the future – The beautiful thing about journaling is that you make it your own. Sometimes breakups make it hard to put one foot in front of the other. If you’re looking for inspiration, you could write about what your life will look once you’ve gotten over your ex and moved on with your life. As you write, really visualize a new life that contains everything you could hope for. Taking a future-focused approach following a breakup is a great way to remind yourself that your life isn’t over and you can still manifest your dreams.
- Get some sunshine – This might not be possible every day, depending on where you live, but even if the sun is hiding, spending time outside in the fresh air will help balance your emotions. Being in nature is a way to get grounded. This is incredibly helpful following a breakup, sine the emotional roller-coaster of it all can leave you needing to reconnect with your roots.
- Eat a balanced diet – Some people tend to eat less when they’re heartbroken; some tend to eat more. Aiming to maintain a balanced, healthy diet post-breakup will support your healing process. Because of the well-established connection between your brain and your gut, what you eat affects your mood, either contributing to or alleviating feelings of anxiety and depression.
- Be self-compassionate – Give yourself time to grieve the loss of this relationship, and don’t be hard on yourself about how you’re coping. That will only make your pain worse and prolong the process. Think about this: How would you treat a friend if they had just experienced a breakup? Treat yourself with the same love and compassion you would give them. You deserve it just as much as they do.
- Seek support – We are wired for connection, so following a breakup, social and emotional support are essential. Your friends and loved ones can provide you with support, and a therapist can also help you process your break-up and integrate the experience in a healthy and meaningful way.
Healing from a breakup is hard, and it can take time to start feeling okay again after this kind of loss. But when you hold the intention to reconnect with yourself, take care of yourself, and stay compassionate with yourself, you can move through the process with more grace and awareness. Eventually, you’ll get to the other side of your grief and pain. You’ll integrate the relationship that’s ended into the story of your life, and you’ll move forward into a bright future.
