How To Handle A Bad Breakup In Your 20's

No matter your age, breakups from relationships aren't ever easy. However, breakups in your 20's tend to be especially difficult, given the stage of where you're at in life. In your 20's, you're figuring out who you are and what you want in life. You're growing your career, trying to make enough money to support yourself, and likely building a solid group of friends to enjoy life with. A breakup during this crucial time could feel like a major setback. Although breakups can be sad and throw you off course, the time after breakups can be advantageous for self-growth and self-discovery. Here are some tips on how to handle breakups in your 20's. 

Have a support system you can lean on

You may have people you lean on, such as friends or family, when going through a difficult time, and vice versa. Well, going through a breakup can be emotionally draining, and the best way to deal with all these emotions is by leaning on your support system. Your friends and family can listen to your feelings, offer words of encouragement, and distract you from the pain that you may be feeling with activities that they know you enjoy. 

Allow yourself to feel your emotions

Acknowledging your feelings and allowing yourself to feel the emotions that come from a breakup is very important. You don't want to ignore these feelings or shove them down because that could cause more pain later on, and it won't allow you to fully heal. Whether you feel sad, upset, or confused after a breakup, you want to process every one of your emotions in order to move on. Allowing yourself to feel your emotions will eventually lead you to come to terms with the end of the relationship. 

Don't overthink why it ended or blame yourself

It is very easy to go down a rabbit hole of thoughts as to why the relationship didn't work, or if you were the reason why the relationship didn't work. However, it's important to realize that a relationship involves two people and if it didn't work, the fault doesn't lie on you only. You have to keep telling yourself that there was nothing you could have don differently. It is important you don't overthink what could have happened and beat yourself up over it. Focus on only moving forward. 

Reflect on your relationship to learn from it

Raher dwelling on why it ended and blaming yourself as mentioned above, it is more positive to reflect on the relationship in ways where you can learn from it. You can ask yourself questions such as, what worked and what didn't? What did you learn from this relationship that you can do differently in your next relationship? What did you learn from this relationship that you don't want to do in your next relationship? Reflecting on these questions is a huge opportunity for self-growth. 

Don't neglect your health and wellness 

While you are distracted from all the feelings and emotions of the breakup, it's important to remember to take care of yourself. Loss of diet, loss of interest in things that were once fun to you, and separating yourself from friends and family are all things that you may feel inclined to do, but that is not good for your mental health and wellness. I know it can be difficult, but make sure you are still eating healthy, exercising when you can, and getting enough sleep. 

Practice self-love 

While healing from a breakup, take the time to practice self-love and self-care. Do activities or hobbies that you know will make you happy, such as reading a book, going out with your friends, or getting your nails and hair done. Taking care of yourself and practicing self-love can boost your self-esteem and confidence during this time when you're feeling down. 

Avoid getting into a "rebound" relationship

Right after a breakup, it can be very tempting to get into a new relationship to ignore what you are feeling and distract yourself from the pain. However, this isn't giving you time to heal and process the emotions you are feeling, and likely won't be a healthy relationship. Take the time for yourself to fully move on and decide what you really want in a partner before you get into another relationship. 

Bad breakups can be heartbreaking, but if you take advantage of the time after the breakup, you can grow in many beneficial ways and discover new things about yourself. It's important to know that although you may be feeling otherwise, the hurt will eventually go away and you will get through this.