As men, we typically aren’t that skilled in dealing with emotions. Hell, we often aren’t that skilled at noticing our emotions. But no event has the more power to force us to notice and feel our emotions as a breakup.
Whether you’ve been together for three years or three months, hearing those words “I think we should break up” can destroy a guy’s world. I’m not here to teach you how to get the girl back, or what went wrong in the relationship. I’m here to help you find a healthy and effective way to deal with a breakup.
First let’s discuss what not to do.
Binge on booze, porn, food, or video games
What better way to numb yourself than with an endless supply of hot virtual women ready to do whatever you want, whenever you want? Or getting wasted out of your mind and partying like you’re back in college? Or playing Call of Duty every night until 4am?
All of above (ideally not at the same time) may distract and numb you for a while, but they prolong the inevitable and necessary process of healing through your emotions.
Seek Out One-Night Stands
What do many guys do when their buddy gets dumped? Their ‘helpful’ advice sounds something like: We need to take you out and get you laid.
While bringing home a cute brunette for a night of sloppy, drunk sex might please your body, it won’t please your heart or your soul. You’ll just end up comparing her to your ex anyway. Like pornography, binge-drinking and video games, one-night stands are little more than a distraction from the pain you’re experiencing.
What can you do instead?
Journal
All the sad, self-defeating thoughts you’re having? Get them out of your head and onto paper. So much of our emotional suffering is caused by the thoughts we allow to ruminate in our mind. During a breakup they are like pouring gasoline on the fire. Your thoughts become an endless loop of doubts, regrets and fears.
Byron Katie’s The Work questions are a powerful tool. It is a laser-like process where you investigate, one-by-one, the thoughts that are causing you pain, stress and suffering. All you need is a pen and paper. The video below shows Katie leading a man through the process and was powerful tool for me.
Exercise and Eat Right
You need to keep up your self-care. Or for some you, actually start a practice of self-care. The most important step you can take is to make sure you are eating natural, non-processed food. Limit your sugar and caffeine. Transmute your period of suffering into a period of catapulting you into peak physical fitness.
Few things feel better than running into your ex a few months later when you look like Brad Pitt from “Fight Club.” Speaking of “Fight Club,”taking up a martial art might be another healthy way to let go of any anger or aggression.
Forgive
No matter what the circumstances of the breakup, you need to forgive yourself for anything you did or didn’t do during the relationship. You did what you did with the awareness you had at the time. Regret just keeps you stuck in the past.
If you really want to move forward fast, forgive her too.
Get Professional Support
Our friends and family may love us and support us, but there are sometimes limits to how they can be there for us; and relying on your buddy for you to dump your sob story for the 127th time can take its toll.
So if you feel that after a while you’re not able to function in your daily life or you don’t feel yourself improving emotionally, seek out the support of a good therapist or coach. There are tons of people out there who can provide the third-party perspective you might need. It could be a safe, loving space for you to heal from your emotions. Or it could be the tough, no bullshit kick in the ass you need to buck and get on with your life. Either way, you’ll get the support you need to truly move on.
About the author
Jeffrey Platts is a men’s coach, writer and authentic relating facilitator passionate about helping men and women connect to their authentic power in life and love. He is one of the lead facilitators for the Authentic Man Program, a life-changing course for men, and has led over 70 personal growth, dating, and consciousness workshops. Jeffrey has been featured in Huffington Post, Washington Post, ABC News and the Good Men Project. He brings to his coaching and writing the latest and best practices in personal growth, communication, technology, sexuality, masculine/feminine dynamics and spirituality. Find out more at jeffreyplatts.com, follow him on Facebook and tweet him at @jeffreyplatts.
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This article originally appeared on MeetMindful. Reprinted with permission.
Photo credit: iStock
I Feel it’s right about now that men feel the deepest emotions Barr when their ‘team’ wins or loses or a close someone has died or they are falling in love. Everyone naturally goes off the rails for a bit and especially if you have been the rejected, either didn’t see it coming or have known for sometime it was inevitable. I agree that all the above that can be used in moderation to give some kind of quality to a persons life will only bring destruction, low self esteem, internalising more anger and hopelessness and prolong the negative self… Read more »
Great advice, especially the part about exercising. A breakup doesn’t have to lead to a downward spiral — it can have the opposite effect, even catapulting a man into better health. Thanks for the insight!
So this article is terrible as a whole – it ignores the grieving process, and is super simple in its solutions (though yes, professional help will indeed always help, as much as it might be unnecessary much of the time). All of those solutions can certainly help, but it’s not a well thought out / complete process. Unless you talk about the things that move us from one step to the next of the process, talking about these solutions in generalities will be next to useless. Also, binging is absolutely a thing that can help ‘at first’. You need to… Read more »