5 Ways to Heal a Broken Heart
Moving Forward When it Hurts
5 Ways to Heal from a Heartbreak
If you have ever loved, chances are, you have also experienced heartbreak. I’m not saying love and heartbreak go hand and hand, but it is through heartbreak that we truly appreciate love. Heartbreak can also help us understand what love is and what love is not. But once you have been hurt, sometimes recovering is hard. Yet how we heal, influences how we love in the future. Therefore, understanding ways to heal effectively is pivotal to our own growth and the health of our relationships.
However, the remedy for healing a broken heart is often a complicated matter. There is no predetermined time for healing and the circumstance surrounding our heart break is uniquely different from others.
Here are Five Universal Principles to Help you Heal from Heartbreak.
Stop Reinjuring Yourself. Whenever you are working through heart break, it is important to distance yourself from what caused you hurt in the first place. This comes in many forms, but often, is found in ongoing communication, searching their profiles online, and entertaining the idea of being “just friends”.
Invest in You. Relationships where you had high hopes are difficult to get over. However, these relationships are even harder, when we have invested in them at the expense of our own well-being. When you invest in you, what you gain can be utilized whether you are single and/or in a relationship again. This also helps reestablish your identity as an individual.
Allow Yourself Time to Process. Sometimes, we want to get over heartbreak so quickly, that we bypass the process it takes to actually get there. When you allow yourself the space to process, you are giving yourself permission to “not be okay”, and to experience a full range of feelings.
Use Free Time Wisely: Using idle time wisely is critical to healing from a broken heart. Temporarily distracting yourself is not always a bad thing, but doing so for too long and you risk ignoring and numbing your own feelings. When this happens, you run the risk of old feelings showing up in new relationships.
Don’t Do it Alone: After heartbreak, the natural tendency may be to isolate yourself and attempt to do it alone. However, we are hard wired for connection; therefore, lean into healthy relationships with friends and family. Don’t rob those who care, of the opportunity to be there for you in times of need.
If you are in the middle of a breakup and need strategies to heal from an old relationship, schedule your first counseling appointment online today at nichardy.com. Also, read my article feature in cosmopolitan for other helpful tips to heal from a broken heart.
For more on relationships, listen to the Untherapeutic Podcast with Dr. Nic Hardy. Untherapeutic is available on all major streaming platforms.