How to Get Over an Ex

Getting over an ex can be very challenging for most people, especially when you’ve been with someone for a long time or are very close to their friends and family. It doesn’t make it any easier if you still talk to each other or if you refuse to try new things and meet new people.

As hard as it can be to move on, below are some tips you should try if you want to get over your ex successfully.

How to Move on From an Ex

Here are some of the best tips to get over your ex.

Write down your ex’s worst habits.

It’s easy to miss your ex and think about wanting to get back together with him if you only remember positive things about him. However, you need to remind yourself that there is a reason why it didn’t work out and that there were things that you didn’t like about him. While doing this, think about why it’s not a good idea to go back to him or even think about its possibility.

Avoid getting in contact with your ex.

The last thing you want to do if you’re trying to get over your ex is to have the temptation of getting in contact with them. In some cases, you may not be able to avoid this. For example, if you work with them, have mutual friends, or go to the same gym, it could be difficult not to bump into them.

Even though those are complicated situations, if you bump into them, avoid having a conversation with them and only say hello if possible. Delete them from social media, delete their phone number, and try to cut ties with them as best you can so that there is no need to contact them.

If you live together, move out as fast as you can, and if you have to exchange belongings, do that quickly too so that you don’t have to continuously be in touch with them for an extended period of time.

Surround yourself with friends.

It’s easier to get over your ex if you have other people to distract you. Make sure you plan activities with friends and keep yourself busy with them. This is a great opportunity to get back in touch with friends you may not have had time for when you were in a relationship or to reconnect with other friends that you had wanted to see. Surrounding yourself with friends while trying to get over your ex makes it much faster.

Meet new people.

This doesn’t mean you have to meet the new love of your life, but it is a great opportunity to put yourself out there and make new friends. You can do this by trying new activities, finding a new hobby, or meeting friends of friends.

You might not be ready for a relationship yet, but you can put yourself on dating apps or try out a phone chat line to meet new people and see what is out there when you are ready to date. Meeting people on a chat line can be great if you’re not ready yet because they don’t have to know much about you if you don’t want them to, and they don’t know what you look like.

With a dating app, you risk having your ex’s friends see you on there and possibly tell him, which might cause problems, but with chat line dating, you don’t have that issue.

Get excited about dates.

Everyone has their own time frame, and some people take longer to get over their ex than others. You don’t have to be over them all the way to start getting excited about the possibility of dating someone new.

You should only date someone when you’re ready to do so, but it’s fun to get excited about the idea of meeting new people and making new memories with them. Usually, on a first date, you do something fun, an activity you like, or go out to eat at a tasty restaurant, which are all things to get excited about.

Exercise often.

It’s important not to allow yourself to spend too much time indoors or in bed. You need to make sure you’re not just moping around and that you’re getting some vitamin D and moving your body. Exercising will raise your self-esteem, give you something to do, and allow you to distract yourself as well.

You can replace the time you may have spent doing an activity with your ex with exercise instead, and that way, you won’t feel bored. Usually, if you’re getting over an ex and you start to feel bored, you may be tempted to reach out and call them, which is why it’s a good idea to keep busy, such as exercising.

Get rid of anything that reminds you of him.

It’s not a good idea to keep things that remind you of your ex. As soon as you end things, make sure you take down any pictures of him and delete social media posts of the two of you.

If you have things he gave you, you want to get rid of them too, so you’re not constantly reminded of him when you see them. It can be hard to get rid of everything right away, but it’s better to do it sooner rather than later.

Seek advice.

The best thing you can do is lean on people around you that you trust and talk to them. Everyone has their own point of view, and they will probably be able to offer helpful advice. Make sure you are willing to listen if you seek advice from them because sometimes people think they are ready to hear things they may not be ready to hear. So if you ask for advice, don’t get angry or annoyed if you’re not told what you want to hear.

Focus on yourself.

After any relationship, the best thing to do is to take time and focus on yourself. Ask yourself if there is anything you can do to improve yourself so that you are a better person in your next relationship. Even if there was nothing wrong with you, there is always something you can improve.

Take this time to do things you may have stopped doing because of your relationship. Perhaps you had hobbies you put aside because you wanted to do more things with your partner. Now is the time to focus on those things again and focus on yourself more.

Give yourself time.

Breaking up with someone is a process. Even if you’re the one who wants to break up, depending on how long you were with that person, you’re probably used to spending time with them and having them around, so naturally, you will miss them. This will probably make you feel sad or confused.

If it was a bad breakup, you might feel angry, disappointed, or frustrated. Whatever the case, you have to give yourself time to process your feelings and the situation you’re going through to get over your ex.

How Long It Takes to Get Over an Ex

Everyone has their own time frame when it comes to getting over an ex, but below are some factors to consider that will affect how long it may take.

How long you’ve been together.

The longer you’ve been with someone, the longer it’ll probably take you to get over them. It’s someone you had feelings for a long time, so it’s normal for it to take time to lose those feelings as well.

How often you saw each other.

This is important because if you saw each other every day or almost every day, you’re used to seeing them and having them in your life, so it might take longer to get over them. This is because it will probably take longer to get used to not seeing them every day, and you’ll have to transition from spending time with someone to spending more time alone, which can be tricky.

If your relationship was long-distance, for instance, you might not notice a lack of their presence as much, and you might get over them faster.

If you share the same friend group.

When you’re still in the same friend group, it can take longer to get over them because you still have to see them and likely interact with them. This will make it difficult to lose feelings for them, and it will take longer to do so.

How serious you were.

You can be with someone for a long time and not have talked about more serious things, just like you can be with someone for a short period of time and perhaps discuss deeper topics. For example, if you had planned on living with each other and discussed the possibility of marriage or children, those are all very serious things that made you plan a future with them, so it’s understandable that getting over them will not be quick.

Whatever the case may have been in your relationship, if you happened to be very serious with your ex, it will take longer to get over them.

Although it seems like a daunting task to overcome the feelings you once had for your ex and finally get over them, it’s a must, and you’ll feel so much better and refreshed once you do. Try not to worry too much about how fast you’re able to do this, it’s not a race, and you should do it at your own speed. If you rush things, you may not get over them as effectively as you want to, so take your time.