How to Look After Your Mental Health During a Break-Up
Going through a breakup is tough. It’s not just about separating your vinyl collection and deciding who gets to take the cat. A break-up can upend your life and your mental health. It can leave you feeling worthless, like a failure, and like it’s your fault that the relationship ended.
These are feelings that no one wants to have to deal with. If you’re going through a break-up, the important thing is to keep going. Putting your life back together and learning how to move on might take some time, but the heartache and feelings of worthlessness won’t last forever. In this guide, we’re going to look at some of the ways you can look after your mental health during a break-up.
Ask for help
Perhaps the hardest thing to do when you’re suffering is to ask for help. Your first instinct might be to go to your friends and say you need to talk or vent. This is a great place to start, but this method isn’t sustainable. Your friends won’t be able to give you professional and practical advice to help you move on. A therapist, on the other hand, will be able to offer this support. Seeking counselling while you are going through a breakup is an excellent way to ensure your mental health remains a priority.
Increase your exercise
It’s not a myth that exercise makes you feel better. Regular exercise can help to boost your mood and give you something else to focus on. When you’re heading out for a 5km run every day, that’s a good hour of the day focusing on yourself and nothing else. It can also be a great way to zone out and forget about your feelings. You don’t have to do intense exercise, just getting a brisk walk in every day will offer plenty of benefits.
Beware your vices
Remember that alcohol doesn’t mask your feelings, it only amplifies them. If you’re turning to drink to try to get through the evenings, consider if there is a healthier way to process your feelings. If you think you might be drinking too much, ask a friend for help finding something else to do in the evening. A brisk walk and a game of scrabble with a good friend might be all you need to distract yourself from the bottle. If your drinking is getting out of control, speak to your GP or a therapist for specialist support.
photo/ Stocksnap
Watch your diet
You might be surprised to learn just how much our diet affects our mood. If you’re struggling to find the time to cook nutritious meals every day, try a meal delivery service or try prepping bulk meals at the start of the week. When you have healthy options ready to go in the fridge or freezer, you’ll be less likely to seek out an unhealthy takeaway. Learning to recognise the signs of emotional and stress eating is a great place to start. To distract yourself from food, you need to engage your brain in a challenge, so why not pick up a Sudoku puzzle or a crossword to keep the evening nibbles to a minimum.
Surround yourself with positive people
You need supportive friends around you when you’re going through a breakup. Knowing where to start when going through a breakup or a divorce will be much easier if you’re surrounded by people who always have your back. If you suspect that your friends might be encouraging you to wallow, drink too much or be negative towards your ex, it might be time to seek out a more positive influence.
To sum up, if you want to take care of your mental health after a breakup, you need to surround yourself with the right people so that you will be empowered to make the right choices.
Author: Paul Gordon
