How to heal a broken heart

By April Perry
Hurricane High School

Relationships can be tough, especially in high school. One moment, you have the most perfect relationship anyone could ask for, and the next thing you know, it’s over.

Sometimes a break-up is so unexpected that it leaves you in shock and it takes a while for the reality to sink in. Of course, once it does, it’s probably going to hurt.

You may swear that you’re never going to date again. Remember, though, that not every relationship ends in heartbreak - there are ones that actually last.

Nothing can completely take the pain away, but bring on the Ben & Jerry’s and try these tips. At least you might feel a little bit better.

Let it out

If you keep your tears stored up inside you, you could end up having an emotional breakdown somewhere — possibly in public. So since you are going to dwell on it anyway, you might as well just take some time alone to think about it.

It’s good to take a few hours or a night to just cry or mope around, but don’t let it go on longer than a day. Locking yourself in your room for days, refusing to eat or ever come out, is not going to help. Instead, that will just make you weaker and more depressed than you already are.

Plan a girls/boys night

You may not feel up to hanging out with your friends right away, but it will make you feel better. Rent some comedies that are so dumb that you can’t help but laugh — like “Napoleon Dynamite.”

You should, however, probably stay away from any movies that involve love stories, at least in the beginning. Later on, if you’re still not up to dating, rent some romances and live vicariously through the characters.

Turn to your best friend

After being rejected by someone, it can be nice to have the attention of someone else. But instead of rushing into another relationship, turn to your best friend of the opposite sex. He or she can tell you what goes on inside the mysterious minds of their gender as well as offer you moral support by telling you that there’s nothing wrong with you and that your ex is just dumb. It will be great having another person to fill the time that you used to spend with your ex.

Break-ups are always going to hurt at first, but once you get out with your friends, you will begin to realize that you don’t need your ex. You may never be able to completely forget the relationship, but time will heal the pain, and in the end, you always have your friends to fall back on.