How To: Break Out of a Break Up

Well, I had an entire article written yesterday ready to post today, but now after a recent turn of events in my life I ended up starting from scratch and rewrote an entirely new article for today instead. I had two different topic requests for this week, break ups and eating healthy (which do NOT go hand in hand). If today's article applies to you directly, I grant you one week to wallow in your pity-party party-of-one state of mind, and then check back next week for some eating healthy tips.

DISCLAIMER: I am by no means an expert on any topic I choose to write about from here on out, but maybe the things that I've gone through or are going through currently relate to you and can help you in some way. At the very least, you can laugh at/with me, remembering that one time that maybe you too felt like a complete moron, as I go through the many Mishaps of an Almost Adult.

Remember how I hate dating? (You should. More than likely you read that article... it was Mishaps Most Read post! Read it here) Its so full of ups and downs, misunderstandments, and unnecessary drama. And that was all on or before my first date with Air Quote-R. What a good pun. I think my eye just twitched.

For those of us that haven't found the loves of our lives yet, dating really is like a roller coaster. It looks so exciting from a distance, people laughing, taking risks and having the time of their lives, convincing you that yeah, that's what you want to do! And then you see the 2 hour long snail-paced line. Still, it might be worth the wait. So you wait, and you wait, and you wait. You finally get to the ride, you're so excited you can hardly stand it. You hop on, ready to go, and the park closes. You get motion sickness. The ride breaks down. The seat belt won't buckle. Who knows. But for some reason, this ride just wasn't for you.

For women, the portrait that gets painted of us post-breakup is the disheveled mess, up to our eyeballs in gross used tissues, cry-screaming, and a full-on pity party. Its super attractive. And a lot of times, not too far off the plate. You can go around in circles all you want claiming it was for the best, it wouldn't work out anyways, or whatever reasoning you'd like to put into it, but breaking up still sucks, both for the dumper and the dumpee. (What a terrible choice of word for that expression.)

No matter whether you're a high school sophomore, a 20-something, or a 40-something, ending a relationship is never fun. So how do you break out of a break up?

1. You read this post. Even though you can't see me, I'm sitting here patting you on the back, handing you a tissue, and telling you it'll be okay.
2. And then I'm going to roll my eyes at you and tell you to MOVE ON! More than likely, you were correct when you said it wouldn't have worked anyway, or you could do better. You already knew it, its just much more obvious now.
3. Give yourself time to recover. You can talk about needing a rebound all you want, but more than likely you probably need to just sit this one out and concentrate on ditching the baggage first.
4. Although I never really recommend a full-on meltdown, don't overcompensate and prevent yourself from feeling anything. You're allowed to be upset. Your life is changing and sometimes its a little jarring.
5. Ditch the sad music/movies. Do you really think listening to Adele's "Someone Like You" on repeat is going to help? If anything, this will lead directly to the up to your eyes in gross used tissues. My choice: I listen to reggae music. Its calm and I have no clue what the heck they're saying most of the time.
6. Count on your friends. More than likely they'll be like me in Step 2, but they love you. They'll listen.
7. Everything happens for a reason. It really wasn't meant to be. There are plenty of other fish in the sea. Pick your expression. Its still true.