A comprehensive three-step solution to heal your broken heart.

Step 1: Go No Contact

No-Contact is a hard and fast way to recover from a breakup. Going “No Contact” means you and your ex must refrain from calling, texting, or interacting on social media for at least sixty-days. Sixty-days is the minimum. You need to keep in mind that no one can tell you that re-initiating contact after sixty-days is the right thing to do. You can’t know for sure if your ex will re-initiate contact after this time frame, or before, or never again. Every situation is different. The point of no-contact is to give yourself the time and space to heal, and to remind yourself that you can live – and live well – without them.

Step 2: Clean House

You need to gather every photo, every article of clothing, every love letter, anything, and everything that belongs to your ex (or reminds you of them) and remove it from your home. Put everything into a box. You don’t have to bring it to Goodwill, and you don’t have to burn it in their front yard; simply put it away in your closet where you can forget about it. If they want their things back, leave the box on your porch and tell them they can pick it up when you aren’t home. There is no use torturing yourself with the memory of them.

Step 3: Self-Development

Tragedy is the best catalyst for change, and you can turn your heartbreak into a positive experience if you work on your self-development. Get a gym membership and use it every, single, day. Not only will the endorphins help alleviate your despair, but you can also rest assured knowing that on the other side of this breakup, you will be a happier, healthier, hotter, you. Spend your newly found free time expanding your mind. Read books, listen to podcasts, do yoga. Accept the fact that you may never see your ex ever again, but also know that if you do run into them, you will be the best version of yourself.

I know it hurts but believe me when I say you will get through this – you will live to love another day.

Author’s Bio

Jackie Donaldson is an American writer and teacher. Her work has been published in Loud Coffee Press, The Vehicle, Across the Margin and others.