8 Effective Ways to Feel Better After a Breakup / Accept That It’s Truly Over!

To help you move past the pain and continue with your life, we’ve prepared a list of eight things you can do right now to heal your broken heart and feel better. So, don’t waste another second dwelling on the past—start taking steps today to improve your well-being.

1. Accept Your Emotions
   While it’s natural to want to forget the past and feel better, you don’t need to suppress or deny your emotions. Part of the healing process involves accepting your feelings and allowing yourself to grieve.

This process is especially crucial after the end of a long-term relationship. Even if the relationship was fraught with issues, it’s normal to feel like a part of you is missing. Give yourself space and time to cry, as crying helps release painful emotions and can improve your mood in the long run.

However, accepting and moving on doesn’t mean that sadness won’t occasionally resurface. It’s natural for grief to surprise you sometimes, but dwelling in prolonged mourning or crying excessively can hinder your recovery.

2. Remove Reminders of Your Ex
   After a breakup, one of the first steps is to cleanse your home or apartment of items that remind you of your ex. Keeping photos of them on your phone or wearing their old sweater can make moving forward more difficult.

This doesn’t mean you need to burn their belongings or throw everything away. You can collect these items and put them out of sight. If you prefer, return them to your ex or donate them to charity. Having easily accessible reminders can obstruct your healing, so do yourself a favor and store them away. Simultaneously, consider removing your ex from your social media accounts.

3. Find Closure
   Sometimes cutting off contact isn’t enough to help you move on. You might need to reach a personal sense of closure to truly end the relationship.

It’s important to do this in a healthy and calm way. Meeting your ex for coffee or trying to have a “final talk” as friends may not be helpful; it can reopen old wounds and prolong the connection.

Instead, consider writing a letter where you express everything you didn’t get to say. However, don’t send this letter to your ex. The act of putting your feelings into words on paper helps you find closure without reigniting the relationship.

4. Make a List of Their Faults
   After a breakup, it’s easy to miss your ex and idealize them, remembering only their good qualities. However, this selective memory can hinder your recovery.

Take time to list everything about your ex that bothered you, both big and small. For example, if they were unfaithful or uninterested in discussing the future, note these points. Reminding yourself why the relationship wasn’t working helps you move forward.

5. Take Care of Yourself
   Self-care is the key to recovery after a breakup. Ensure you eat well, exercise regularly, shower daily, and get enough sleep. You might also pamper yourself with activities like massages, facials, or manicures if they lift your spirits.

Be cautious about making drastic or impulsive changes, such as dyeing your hair a wild color or shaving it off completely. These decisions may seem appealing now but could lead to regret later. Focus on activities that make you feel good without causing irreversible changes.

Consider yoga, journaling, or mindfulness practices. Small joys, like reading a good book or treating yourself to a nice meal, can also boost your mood.

6. Connect with Others
   Although isolating yourself in your room might be tempting, it’s not a healthy response to a breakup.

Set a goal to connect with others. Reach out to family and friends, and make plans to spend time together. Laughing and enjoying activities with supportive people can distract you from thoughts of your ex and lift your spirits.

Talking to trusted friends or family members about the breakup can also help. If you lack a confidant, consider speaking with a counselor. Processing your feelings through conversation is essential for moving forward.

Be mindful not to overdo it, though. Constantly discussing your breakup can exhaust your friends and family. Balance your emotional needs with being a supportive friend in return.

7. Plan a Solo Adventure
   After being part of a couple for a long time, relearning how to be alone can be challenging. Solo activities, though initially daunting, can be liberating and beneficial.

Plan a simple solo outing, like a hike or a short trip. The goal is to rediscover the joy of spending time with yourself. Choose an activity you’ve always wanted to do but couldn’t because your ex was uninterested.

This way, you’ll finally experience something you’ve longed for while reclaiming lost time. It also serves as a reminder of why you weren’t compatible.

8. Accept That It’s Over
   It’s tempting to hope for reconciliation, but in most cases, the likelihood is slim. Accept that the relationship has ended and it’s time to move on.

Clinging to the possibility of your ex returning keeps you in limbo, hoping they’ll realize their mistake. More often than not, this doesn’t happen.

Avoid overanalyzing your mistakes or obsessing about what you could have done differently. While learning from your mistakes is valuable, dwelling on them traps you in a cycle. Instead, take lessons from the relationship and focus on moving forward. Each step brings you closer to healing and letting go.

Conclusion

Whether you initiated the breakup or were blindsided by it, the key is to leave the past behind and move forward. The way you do this is entirely up to you. The essential thing is to make consistent efforts to let go of your ex and prioritize your well-being.

You won’t have perfect days every day, but as long as you commit to making healthy choices, you’ll eventually feel better and heal your broken heart.