Five ways to get over a breakup

There's a saying that, “it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” That may be, but that doesn't mean that the 'losing' part doesn't hurt while you're dealing with it. Breaking up is never an easy thing to do, but there are a few ways that you can ease any pain you may be feeling.

• Get depressed. Then, get dressed. Let yourself feel sad, angry or whatever is is that you're feeling. If you don't deal with your feelings, they're just going to get worse. However, don't wallow in them for too long.
• Have a 'chick flick' party. When I had a particularly difficult breakup, my friends consoled me by throwing me a 'chick flick' party. We got together in my dorm room with several pints of ice cream, candy, soda and The First Wives' Club. This movie is one of the ultimate 'girl power' movies, which made it perfect for our 'get over him' theme. Few things make you forget the bad parts of a relationship better than Ben and Jerry's! For some reason, Cherry Garcia seems to have a particularly therapeutic effect. :)
• Remove any 'evidence' of him that you can. While you may not be able to get rid of all reminders of your ex (especially living, breathing ones!), there's no reason that you have to keep everything lying around. Put away the jewelry he gave you, that tape of love songs he made and any other 'reminders' that you can. I'm not saying throw them out because many of them do have value to you, but it might be easier to get over him if you don't have to look at his face all the time. You can bring everything back out later on.
• Enlist the help of your friends. A breakup is a good time to lean on your friends. That is one reason the 'chick flick' party was so helpful; my friends refused to allow me to wallow in self-pity and made sure I had a good time. Find ways to spend more time with your friends, particularly if you weren't able to when you were with your ex.
• Stay away from the old haunts. That nice little bistro you went to on your first date is now officially off-limits. At least, it is until you can walk by it without thinking of him. When you're trying to get over a breakup, one of the last things you need is something that will trigger wistful thoughts of the good times you had together. While it will be good to be able to remember these things later on, you might be a bit too raw for this at first.

These are just a few suggestions I've picked up along the way. I can't tell you how to deal with your particular relationships, but it's good to have a few ideas as to how to get over your ex and get back to life again.