How to grieve, forgive, and move on after a failed relationship

[CantMoveOn]

Have you just ended a long-term relationship with someone? Whether it was an exclusive dating relationship or a marriage, they can be ugly and painful--even for the one who initiated the breakup. Or, perhaps it was mutual, and both of you felt it was for the best.

However it happened, it can be emotionally taxing to end a relationship with someone after being together for a long time together. Before moving on, spend time understanding your past relationship and preparing yourself for the best that’s yet to come. Ideally, you will finish this process before you get involved with someone new. Only after grieving and learning about who you are now, will you have a successful and healthy end to your relationship, making yourself ready for a better future.

Do
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learn from your relationship mistakes
rebuild with a helping hand
forgive yourself and your ex
grieve fully
let go and leave the past behind you
Don't
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feel sorry for yourself
be an elephant
be a hermit
jump into another relationship too soon
hold on to anger
Do
Do learn from your relationship mistakes
Remember, it takes two to tango, so it’s never all one person’s fault when a relationship doesn’t work. By acknowledging your part, you can choose to change your attitudes, beliefs, or behavior that contributed to the problems. After all, you are the common denominator in all of your relationships, and you are the only person you can change. So learn everything you can from the relationship. What worked that you want to have more of the next time? What didn’t work? Learn it now, so you don’t repeat the bad stuff.

Do rebuild with a helping hand
Ending a long-term relationship is emotionally exhausting, and can easily leave anyone in a puddle on the floor. Rushing into a new relationship too quickly can be a recipe for disaster because you probably have not gotten your emotional bearings yet. But you feel that emotional void--what do you do? Where do you go?

All of us need support as we move through change. Strong people reach out for the support they need whether it is to a life coach, a relationship coach, a pastor, or a therapist. Rebuild yourself into a stronger, more confident person than you were before with the help of others. This is how you take care of yourself and refill your emotional bank account, so you can be ready to love again.

Do forgive yourself and your ex
Forgiveness is really about giving up the belief that you can change the past. Forgiving is not for the other person -- it is for you.

There is a story about two monks who had been imprisoned and brutally tortured. Several years after their release they were reunited. One monk asked the other if he had forgiven their captors. “NEVER!” … he exclaimed. The first monk said, “I see they still have you in prison.”

Forgiveness is letting yourself out of the prison of what was. Regardless of your contribution to the situations that ended the relationship, forgive yourself and learn from it. It may be forgiving yourself for letting it happen or for whatever you did to contribute to it.

Do grieve fully
Even if ending the relationship was your request, you will likely go through a time when you mourn the loss of the dream you once had with your partner. Grieving is a process. It’s kind of like the waves on the beach. It comes over you … recedes … and comes back again.

Grieving often goes through stages: shock and denial, pain and guilt, anger, depression and loneliness. Then you begin to move forward, there’s acceptance, and finally hope. Grieving fully frees you to be open to the wonderful possibilities ahead.

Do let go and leave the past behind you
It will be tempting to remember the mistakes you made and that your partner made. You will likely also remember the wonderful times you had together. While it’s good to remember the good and the bad, you must let it go. The relationship is over and it’s time to look forward, and move on to a new future. C.S. Lewis, novelist and poet said, “Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward.”

Don't
Do not feel sorry for yourself
When you feel like a victim you see the world as being against you. You feel powerless and often don’t take positive action to move beyond your pain. But, the truth is that you have complete power over the most important part of the whole situation – you and the way you choose to think. It may not be as easy as flicking a switch, but you will be a whole lot happier if you make the effort to change your perspective.

Do not be an elephant
Elephants are said to have big memories for lots of little details. If you hash and rehash all of the things he or she did wrong, you will stay stuck in the mud, so to speak. Not only will you keep yourself in a place filled with negative thoughts and feelings but your potential new partner certainly does not want to hear a constant parade of “horribles.” Letting go frees you from focusing on the negatives.

Do not be a hermit
Yes, you probably need time to lick your wounds and regain your strength. But cutting yourself off from the world only increases your feeling of loneliness. Spending time with your friends helps you to focus on things other than your pain. Besides, having some fun will lighten your mood and improve your attitude.

If you want to date, this would be a very good time for “Recreational Dating.” That means dating just to have fun and not to look for a new partner. If you decide to do that, you should be very clear to both yourself and the other person that you are not ready for a new relationship. You just want to have some fun.

Do not jump into another relationship too soon
It may be very tempting to quickly replace your lost lover with a new warm body. But the odds are that you are not ready to be a good partner yet. It takes time to process the grief and take stock of what you really need to have in a happy, healthy relationship. You may even need to work on a few things yourself.

The biggest risk in moving into a new relationship too quickly is that you may find yourself in another relationship that does not work. When you want to have a relationship so badly, it is easy to overlook all of the red flags. Only after you have become a “successful single” will you be ready to jump in with both feet.

Do not hold on to anger
When you have been hurt, it is very tempting to hold on to the anger. You might be mad at the other person for all he or she did, or at yourself for letting it happen.

However, anger does have benefits. It releases negative emotions so they don’t just get stuffed down your hollow leg only to be explored at another time. But the key here is to release those feelings. Releasing anger is like throwing off the old, tattered, winter coat and embracing the spring sunshine. Holding on to them and keeping the caldron churning blocks you from seeing a bright new future.

Summary
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It’s possible to have a successful and healthy end to a long-term relationship. Emotionally letting go through the grieving process, and with help and support from a relationship expert is a very important step in moving toward the bright new possibilities that lay ahead for you.

- - - Updated - - -

I found this article interesting.

It didn't post how I had hoped it would.

Oh well.

Hope someone finds something of worth in it.

[lovebroken]

Lots of good advice in this article.

Particularly liked:

All of us need support as we move through change. Strong people reach out for the support they need whether it is to a life coach, a relationship coach, a pastor, or a therapist. Rebuild yourself into a stronger, more confident person than you were before with the help of others. This is how you take care of yourself and refill your emotional bank account, so you can be ready to love again.

and

Forgiveness is really about giving up the belief that you can change the past. Forgiving is not for the other person -- it is for you.

There is a story about two monks who had been imprisoned and brutally tortured. Several years after their release they were reunited. One monk asked the other if he had forgiven their captors. “NEVER!” … he exclaimed. The first monk said, “I see they still have you in prison.”

Forgiveness is letting yourself out of the prison of what was. Regardless of your contribution to the situations that ended the relationship, forgive yourself and learn from it. It may be forgiving yourself for letting it happen or for whatever you did to contribute to it.

and
Do let go and leave the past behind you
It will be tempting to remember the mistakes you made and that your partner made. You will likely also remember the wonderful times you had together. While it’s good to remember the good and the bad, you must let it go. The relationship is over and it’s time to look forward, and move on to a new future. C.S. Lewis, novelist and poet said, “Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward.”

Hope others read your article you posted and comment.

[CantMoveOn]

Thank you, lovebroken. You are very kind.

[lovebroken]

Which of the don't do you think applied most to you and your ex? How are things getting past him now?

[CantMoveOn]

The one that applied to me most with him was - Don't Be an Elephant. 100% was and kinda still is me and it still hurts and makes me depressed but I think less and less about it every day.

[datingrookie]

Moving on from a relationship is very hard and I have found myself feeling really depressed after the end of relationships. We go through the cycle of feeling sad, then feeling fine for some hours/days, then back to square one of feeling so sad that it becomes so painful to do anything through out the day. I have definitely learned that forgiveness helps the moving on process and understanding that some relationships just don't work out no matter what you do or think you could have done to change it. For me, I used to always get so depressed by just thinking I could have done something differently and things wouldn't have ended, but what I realized is that we honestly don't know IF anything would have been different. We just can't SOLELY control a relationship that involves TWO people. Learning from my mistakes, forgiving my ex partner and focusing on myself has definitely helped a lot.

I actually just started my dating blog today, datingrookie.com, where I would talk about most of my Dating/Relationship experiences and hopefully people can learn from my mistakes and feel better/stronger in regards to moving on. Feel free to follow. I actually also noticed that reading or hearing about other people's stories does help after a break up. Hopefully I can help those going through what I have been through too many times.

[CantMoveOn]

I got to the suicidal point. It was bad for me and still have issues because this was a long ten yr relationship, moved countries and was engaged. He betrayed me in all ways possible and still learning about lies he told me till this day.

[Minikimini]

If you have apple podcasts, listen to "Break up Boost"... if you can stand the chick's whiny voice, she talks a lot of good sense.. but that voice...

[cocacola]

This is awesome. I just broke up with someone- this post was like medicine. Thank you!

[cocacola]

Breakup boost is good- lol she does have an annoying voice

[CantMoveOn]

Thank you, Minikimini and cocacola.

It makes me happy you found something in the article [MENTION=87606]cocacola[/MENTION] *hugs*

[lovebroken]

Do you still have your friend updating you about him and her? [MENTION=85495]CantMoveOn[/MENTION] That is keeping the pain alive, what if anything are you waiting to know about him at this point? The best revenge is to be happier than he is.

[sarahanry]

what is breakup?

[Pinky Kumar]

Breaking up with someone can feel like a major loss.

Relationships that are over still can have a pull on us for long. Something that was once a really big part of your life starts to fade away.

We might have faced it by our self or came across it when a close acquaintance went through it.

Around the world, many people have a breakup. For some, it is not a big deal. They overcome it with little or no effort. While there are others, who are completely shattered and face a lot of emotional turmoil.

Here are the ways which will help you grieve, forgive, and move on after a failed relationship:

1. The best way to heal after a break up is to start loving yourself. The person who deserves all your love and attention after a breakup is you!

2.Embrace your “me” time, and cultivate your interests as an individual, as you gradually move on from the relationship.

3. Talk it out and write it down, in the most positive way you can. Try to squeeze out every bit of positivity from the breakup that has happened.

4. Take yourself out to do things and enjoy the freedom to do what you want. Go to your favorite coffee shop, go shopping, or take yourself on a mini-vacation.

5. Make sure that you are eating well, sleeping enough, making time for relaxation, and getting regular exercise to feel your best.

6. Don’t be afraid to ask your friends and family for support if you need someone to talk to or a shoulder to cry on.

7. Register that we can’t force anyone to love us back, nor can we force them to stay. We can only let the time take control as it is aptly said, time heals everything.

8. Stay hopeful for even happier future and believe that whatever happens- happens for good. Let go the past and the past will let go of you.

When you come close to terms with the end of a relationship, that didn’t go well, you will surely feel a very freeing experience. You are no longer required to fight in order to keep things alive.

Once you have successfully overcome this hurdle in your life, you will emerge as a more evolved person. After a breakup, you will develop a much deeper empathy towards others, you will figure out who are the ones who stick to you in your worst time and most importantly make you aware of your true aspirations in life.

[breathe123]

Why are you current people spamming her thread? Just make your own thread.