How to get over a break-up

There’s no way to sugar-coat it, break-ups are rough. Psychologist Guy Winch, author of How to Fix a Broken Heart, gives tips to start your road to recovery ASAP.

Do not check up on them on social media. This will reinforce your ex’s presence in your mind and only make it harder for you to stop fantasising about your broken relationship.

Avoid creating mysteries about why the break-up happened, this will give your ex a starring role in your thoughts when you need to downgrade them to an extra. Accept any explanation that fits the facts and keeps your self-esteem intact such as they were unwilling to commit, they allowed themselves to drift emotionally and didn’t bring up what was happening until it was too late, or they were just not the person you thought they were.

Make a list of all of the compromises you had to make in the relationship that you would rather not make next time.

Do the things that used to bring you enjoyment and interest even if they don’t seem interesting and enjoyable now. Going through the motions is an important way to signal to yourself that life goes on.

Remove reminders of the relationship that cause you pain, such as texts and photographs.

Reach out to friends and make the most of their support; heartbreak is ubiquitous and everybody has their own words of wisdom to offer. — The Independent