Originally Posted by trailmix

As Ann said, distracting yourself is a huge part of getting past this.

You said:



Distracting yourself helps ease your sadness, but it also makes new memories for you. When you meet new people, when you are out in the world and people are kind or friendly or you have a nice talk to someone you are standing in line with or sitting beside on that bus ride - those things make a difference.

Now when you are chopping salad for dinner you are thinking about the conversation you had with that woman today about her trip to Vietnam - not what the ex is doing.

It takes time. Hopefully you are already finding that there are times when you catch yourself not thinking about him at all, might be for 10 minutes or half an hour. Maybe you always wanted to visit Thailand or Norway, why not plan a trip, what would it cost, what can you do to achieve that? You could go alone or maybe with a family member, or go on a group trip that is pre-arranged by a travel group or company.

We all need human interaction, it is the most healing thing. It's also the most joyful thing. Who wouldn't want that. So yes, get out there in the world, even if you don't feel like it, even if you have to drag yourself to the corner store to get a slurpee or a cup of coffee. It will get easier because it lifts your mood.