Letting go is never easy. It’s hard to admit to yourself that someone or something you cared so deeply about will never be in your life again. Yet, one thing’s for sure: Letting go is necessary when it comes to prioritizing your mental, emotional, and physical health. It’s time to give yourself the chance to heal and learn the art of letting go.
Allow Yourself the Chance to Feel
Very rarely will letting go be a pleasant experience. You’ll likely feel immense sadness, anger, and disappointment. Sometimes, it seems easier to pretend the loss never happened at all in the first place. Yet, avoiding your feelings and emotions doesn’t mean that they don’t exist. They might creep up on you sometime down the road when you’re reminded of the pain associated with such a loss. Allow yourself to cry, yell, scream, smile, and laugh.
Increase Your Distance
It’s hard to let go of a person or a part of your past if you’re frequently reminded of them in your daily life. Every time you see an image of them posted on social media or drive down the streets you two used to explore, the pain of the loss will come back two-fold.
Sometimes, the best way to let go is by putting some distance between you and what you’re moving on from. Unfollow your ex from social media, avoid going to the park he goes to for his morning run, and block her number on your cell phone.
Work to Improve Yourself
You’ll never be the way you were before the loss occurred. Instead of letting the breakup or loss take over your entire life, you need to use the process of letting go to improve yourself as a person. Think about the things you need to work on that would make you a better person. Maybe it’s something as simple as regaining control of your health by going to the gym or starting a new diet. Perhaps you want to go to therapy to sort through your emotions.
Talk About Your Emotions
You don’t necessarily have to sign-up for counseling every time a relationship ends, but you must take the time to express what you’re feeling. Acknowledging your feelings will help you to stop internalizing your pain and sadness and lean on somebody else for support. A good friend, a family member, or even a stranger can provide you with a listening ear and give you the chance to verbalize what you’ve been feeling. The worst thing you can do is stay silent.
Stick to a Routine
Letting go can be debilitating for your mental health, especially when the person was so heavily involved in your life. You might get to a point where you feel like you don’t have the motivation to do anything.
Sticking to a routine is the best way to stay on track as you work through your emotions. Be sure to take a shower every morning, do something you enjoy at least once a day, treat yourself to something you love, and nourish your body with good food.
Final Thoughts
Unfortunately, the process of letting go of someone or something important to you doesn’t happen overnight. This might take you weeks, months, or even years to learn to be okay with the loss. The most important thing you can do is look toward the future instead of reminiscing upon the past. The only way you should be going is forward, and constantly looking toward the past will slow your progress and send you into a downward spiral.
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