How to Get Over a Breakup Like a Boss

By ASTROGLIDE Team

So, it’s happened – it’s over. The person that you loved and put in the top spot of your speed dial is gone and you’re left feeling like you got kicked in the gut. You can’t eat, you can’t sleep, and literally everything that you see reminds you of them. Your friends and family all tell you that you’re better off and that this feeling will pass with time, but when your heart feels like an Adele song, it’s hard to believe them.

But listen — it’s time to pull yourself together. This sad sack isn’t you and there’s no way that one little breakup is going to take you down. You’ve got this. You’re going to get over this breakup like a boss – and here’s how:

Give Yourself Time to Grieve

We know that this is supposed to be an article about how to get over a breakup, so if you’re here, chances are you want the magic bullet for ridding yourself of the soul crushing misery of your heartache. We get it. We’ve been there. It’s the worst.

Unfortunately, when it comes to getting over a breakup, the only way through it is — well — through it. There’s no way to sidestep the sense of pain and loss you feel. You’ve got to face it head on and deal with it if you want to be done with it for good.

Taking time to grieve is crucial. Grieving happens in stages and none of them can happen overnight. You’re going to feel this way for a while and that’s OK. Let yourself feel what you feel, but remember not to panic. You aren’t going to feel this way forever. It will get better. You’ll be OK. We promise. Just give it some time.

Find Healthy Ways to Deal

When a relationship crashes and burns, it can be tempting to let yourself crash and burn with it. Sure, you’re entitled to spend a night or two crying into a pint of Ben & Jerry’s or blowing too much money at the bar — but then it’s time to pull yourself together. Drowning your sorrows in things that are ultimately self-destructive is only going to make you feel worse. You already have a breakup to deal with. Give yourself a break and don’t add any more negativity to the list.

If you find yourself needing to blow off steam, try channeling it in healthy ways. That box of wine is not going to do you any favors tomorrow, but going for a run might. That stack of Oreos is not going to love you back, but spending time with your family and friends will remind you that you’ve already got all the love you need.

Treat Yourself

When you’re getting over a breakup, you need a little extra TLC. While your friends and family can be there for you, don’t forget to be there for yourself as well. Dealing with heartache can be extremely draining, so make sure that you’re taking care of yourself along the way. Take a bubble bath, get lots of sleep, eat healthy meals, and make sure that you are giving yourself lots of down time to relax. When you’re feeling good physically, it’s a lot easier for your emotions to follow.

Also, don’t be afraid to indulge yourself a little. While you don’t want to overdo it on things that aren’t good for you, there are lots of other non-destructive ways to splurge. Book a vacation somewhere tropical, give yourself a makeover or spring for that personal trainer that you’ve been thinking about for ages. Taking the time to pamper yourself in positive ways will do wonders to turn your mood around and will give you something fun to focus on so you’re not focusing on your ex.

Get Some Distance

We’re not saying that you necessarily have to cut your ex out of your life completely (unless you want to, then by all means…), but you’re at least going to need to take some space away from them if you want to get to the point where you can move on. If you’re still hurting over your breakup, it’s a sign that you probably need to stay away from them.

It’s extremely difficult to get the perspective needed to move on if you and your ex are still hanging out and falling into familiar patterns. If your ex is someone that you would like to continue to have in your life as a friend, your relationship is going to have to evolve. It can’t do that if you don’t give it some room to breathe.

Clean House

As with any train wreck, the end of a relationship will inevitably leave behind some debris. Her hair ties on your bathroom counter, his favorite sweatshirt on the shelf in your closet, that framed picture of you on vacation where you both look really happy – the still-smoldering ashes of the life you shared together are everywhere. If you’re going to start healing, it’s all got to go.

Go through your house and gather up anything that will only serve as a painful reminder. If you’re not feeling ready to face it, get a friend to help you. Do it all in one sweep and then put it all somewhere that you won’t have to see it. Reclaiming your space will make it easier for you to move on.

Keep in mind that your home might not be the only place that needs a proverbial exorcism. If you find yourself constantly being confronted with pictures of your ex every time you check in on social media, your digital life might need some cleansing as well. A lot of people find that blocking their ex on social media is a crucial step in getting over a breakup, but if you’re not willing to go that route, keep reading for a list for apps and plugins that can give you more options.

Stay Strong

There comes a dark hour in the course of any breakup when you forget all of the reasons that you and your ex broke up in the first place. You’ll hear a joke that you just have to tell them or catch yourself getting nostalgic over your first date and suddenly all of the very sound and valid reasons that you had for moving on from that relationship will start to seem flimsy.

This is the critical moment when you will need to stay strong. If you prepare yourself ahead of time, you’ll have the best chance of making it through without backsliding into your old relationship. Write a list of all the reasons that you should not be with your ex and put it away somewhere so that you can re-read it when you are feeling unsure of your decision. Have a couple of friends on standby that you can call when you are thinking of calling your ex. Having a contingency plan in place to help hold you accountable will make it easier to have clarity about the situation and do what is best for you.

Call In Backup

Getting over a breakup isn’t easy. You’ll have good days and you’ll have bad days. The good news is that you don’t have to go through it alone. When it comes to heartbreak, basically everyone has been there – and chances are your family and friends will be able to empathize with what you are going through. This is the time to lean on the people closest to you for support, so don’t be afraid to ask for it if you need it.

Plan to spend more time with your inner circle, especially at times that you know will be hardest for you. For instance, if you used to spend Friday nights cooking dinner with your ex, then plan a new tradition of catching a movie with a friend. Spending time with the people you love will keep you from feeling lonely and gives you fun things to look forward to. A full social calendar also means that you will have less time to feel sad about your breakup, which will help you move on.

Do You, Boo

When a relationship ends, you inevitably find yourself with a lot of extra time on your hands. Time that you spent with your ex can very easily become time that you spend binge watching Netflix. If you don’t find something productive to do with that time, you’re going to end up feeling even more isolated and lonely. That’s why a breakup is the perfect opportunity to try something new.

Take up yoga, join a band, or start that novel that you’ve been wanting to write for the last five years. This is your opportunity to focus on yourself and make some decisions about what you want your single life to look like moving forward. Choose to focus your energy on something awesome and it won’t be long before you are feeling awesome, too.

Get Pumped

Yes, breakups are the worst. But you know what isn’t? Being single. It can be hard to recognize through the haze of heartbreak, but the single life has a lot of perks. From sleeping diagonally across the bed to having the general ability to “do you”, being single is actually pretty awesome.

And best of all, being single means that you get to fall in love again. Sure, you loved your ex, but the fact that you’re broken up means that it clearly wasn’t working. Being single means that you have the opportunity to meet someone new – someone who is right for you.

In the meantime, you get to enjoy all the fun parts of looking. The excitement of flirting, first dates and first kisses are all back on the menu for you now. Instead of struggling to make a dead end relationship work, you get to start over and make something new.

Best Apps for Getting Over a Breakup

In this day and age, there is an app for literally everything. If you’re still struggling with how to get over an ex and would like some digital backup, here are a few that might help:

1.) Kill Switch

If you and your ex are trying to be friends, but you’re still at the stage where seeing their picture pop up in your Facebook Timeline is a dagger to your heart, Kill Switch has you covered. This app allows you to banish any and all pictures, videos, and statuses that tag your ex into a private folder. You can choose what stays and what goes and you can bring it all back at some point in the future when you’re ready.

2.) Block Your Ex

This browser plugin will block the up to five exes from appearing in your Google search results. All you have to do is enter their full names and their social media information into Block Your Ex and poof – they’re gone.

3.) Drunk Lock

If you’re afraid that you might lose your resolve to not call your ex after a glass or two of wine, this is the app for you. Once Drunk Lock is activated, it requires you to answer a series of math problems before it will let you make a call. The idea is that if you’ve had one too many, you’ll have trouble getting them right. However, even if you haven’t been drinking, having to answer math questions will at least slow you down and give you time to reconsider making the call. You can even connect it to Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat, so you don’t make the mistake of contacting your ex on social media either.

What do you think of our list? Do you have any great advice for how to get over a breakup like a boss? Let us know by tweeting @ASTROGLIDE.

_{Images are for illustrative purposes only}.