(Photo: Wei Jiàn Hé/EyeEm via Getty Images)
It’s never easy to bargain with the pain of the one you’ve spent tremendous time with, and the one you’ve vulnerably fell in love with repeatedly, moving on from you.
From being ultimate best friends with dreams of one day growing old together to becoming complete strangers never addressing each other again, heartbreak is the emotional rollercoaster countless have experienced, but not many have survived.
Valentine’s Day is around the corner and many singles are still sorrowfully reminiscing on their past relationships rather than finding inner peace with themselves and forgiving their ex to move forward with their own lives.
As the healing process may be unpleasantly long, you should not dwell on someone for an extensive period of time as it will negatively impact your well-being, surroundings and life.
Here are five tips to help ease the journey of heartache.
Be patient
Challenging as it sounds, you can’t put a time limit on healing. To be at peace takes time and is a process you cannot rush. However, doing positive activities will help you get closer to a healthy recovery. Painting a picture of happiness, writing about your inspirations or listening to a motivational video or podcast are just a few activities you can do on your road to recovery.
Do daily activities to aid to your overall improvement, but don’t use them solely to get through the process; you will not properly heal.
Understand your time wasn’t wasted
Instead of looking at every relationship as a waste of time, view it as an experience to have a better understanding of love. Heartbreak teaches you about what love is, what is tolerable and intolerable and who you are as a person. Compare and contrast every aspect of your previous relationship(s) that will help you move forward and be confident in knowing what you want so your mind won’t deteriorate from your next, hopefully last, relationship.
Remember your pain has purpose
Know you are exactly where you are supposed to be in life, regardless of the “what-ifs.” Life wasn’t made to destroy you but to build you into the person you are today. Everything you went through, or are currently experiencing, was for a reason. Your story can be the light for someone else who went through a similar experience and could even save their life.
Know you are not alone
Countless people have encountered heartache and overcame it. Ask a friend or family member for advice and guidance on your journey. Go to a group circle and heal with others who have been through it, or even start one of your own. But always remember, you are not the only one.
Focus on yourself and learn how to be alone
Focus on being you and not finding happiness from somewhere else because it won’t work out in the end. The item or person you depend on for joy won’t be there 100% of the time, but you will. Focus on your dreams, ambitions, and what truly matters to you and only to you that can positively and beneficially impact your future self.
These trials and tribulations in life only make you stronger. It will not harm you unless you haven’t learned the teachings from your past experiences. It’s normal not to be okay; it’s normal to go through heartbreak. This is what makes life ‘life’ and what makes you human.