Breaking up with someone and being broken up with can be equally devastating. Every day feels like a marathon of emotions – sad, angry, numb, relieved…and repeat. The emotional roller coaster of ending a relationship with your best friend is exhausting and sometimes leaves you in bed or lounging on the couch for days. There are certainly ways to get you back to feeling like yourself and today I’m going to share with you my favorite activities that have always somehow made me feel a little better after heartbreak (and don’t worry, they’re not all physical activities.)
Dog Walking & Pet Sitting
Animals are very comforting. They have strong instincts and the ability to know when you’re feeling extra sad and need a big ol’ cuddle. No, I’m not suggesting buying a puppy, as this will be overwhelming right after a breakup, but I do recommend heading to your local shelter and offering to dog walk. Or, you can phone a friend who has a furry pal and ask if you can take their pet for a walk. If you’re not a dog lover, seek out a friend with a cat and ask if you can pet sit sometime. Animal owners will never refuse the extra help and will be grateful to have another sitter on speed dial.
Soul Cycle
If you’re going through one of those breakups where the primary feeling is anger, Soul Cycle is for you. If you’ve never experienced full beastmode, you will in this spin class. I’ve only ever participated in a class at Soul Cycle one time in my life, but it was unforgettable. I laughed (from how insane the work out was), I cried (from the excessive cardio), and I felt powerful (from releasing feel good endorphins and allowing myself to go through the emotional ride). Spin is a high intensity workout class that lets you experience all your emotions at once, leaving you feeling like a million bucks after you sweat the stress away.
Photo by Trust “Tru” Katsande on Unsplash
Clean out your closet
Toss on a little Eminem’s “Cleaning out my closet,” and get to it! Cleaning will ultimately lift weight off your shoulders even though you may despise the thought of it. Perhaps you lived with your ex and still have some of their items laying around that you need to get rid of; take off a rainy Sunday and transform your apartment into your solo sanctuary. Buy some fresh candles, label and organize your cabinets, and reward yourself with a good book and glass of wine once you’re done.
Go Airplane Mode
Social media can be the bane of your existence during a breakup. You keep refreshing your ex’s Instagram feed to see what they’ve been up to the last couple days, or you continue to watch their Insta story, taking note of everyone they’ve hung out with in the last week without you. You will inevitably build a faux narrative in your mind about how your ex has 100% moved on while you remain heartsick. Quit looking at your ex’s social media pages right now and start worrying about yourself and your own life, forget about what your ex is doing with theirs and move forward without them.
Photo by Cathryn Lavery on Unsplash
Writing & Journaling
Writing can be a really great release without having to pick up a weight or run on a treadmill. There are a couple ways you can apply writing to overcome your breakup. Lucky for me, I write for a dating blog so oftentimes I’ve written post directly correlating to my own experience and it can be very therapeutic. If you don’t have a blog, buy a journal and start writing how you really feel. You can journal as much or as little as you like, but when you find your mind repeating certain thoughts over and over, this would be a good indication that you should probably write it down on paper to make space in your mind for feel good thoughts. One of my favorite things to do is head to a public space like a coffee shop, or library and start writing. It’s nice to get out of your daily space and find inspiration from strangers around you.
