Heartbreak is an inevitable part of being human. We are flooded with emotions constantly and have to deal with them to the best of our abilities. However, heartbreak is one circumstance that everyone deals with differently. Below are a few ways to make the healing process faster.

Go through it, not around it.

When faced with a difficult situation, people often try to run away from or ignore their challenge completely until they are forced to deal with it. However, that is not the way to get through a heartbreak. Much like other problems, acceptance is the first step to recovery. Denying your pain or sadness will only make your heart ache worse. When you’ve spent copious amounts of time with someone, it comes as no surprise that you will find a reminder of them in things that you do everyday. Whether it’s watching “Stranger Things” or listening to the song “Malibu” you are not alone in this phase and it will simmer down slowly.

Do the things you love, even if you have to do them alone.

Being alone used to be my biggest fear. I always felt like it was too much for me, I was too afraid of myself and allowing my thoughts to flood my mind the way that they’d always tried, but doing things alone is a good thing. Though there is no need to completely isolate yourself, it is okay to go grab coffee or dinner alone. It will allow you to do things without feeling compelled to talk to another person or live up to the expectations you assume that they have. Coping with heartbreak might be a great deal with learning to be alone and learning to love being alone.

Be selfish — to an extent.

Being single means living life for yourself. You’re at a chapter in your life when you are allowed to focus on yourself and only yourself, without a worry in the world. This is a time when you can spoil yourself or start to save up for something great, whatever your preference may be.

Appreciate the little things around you.

When it starts to feel like you’ve lost purpose, look to pieces of your life that you typically overlook. This might be a scenic drive, a hobby that has been pushed away or anything of the sort. This activity might just help to pull you out of this sunken feeling. Take a walk, call an old friend and enjoy the little things all over again.

Don’t forget to live.

Keeping yourself cooped up in your room might be the best and the worst thing to do. Maybe you don’t want to be around a ton of people but isolation isn’t the answer. Students at Antioch Community High School are lucky enough to have a ton of community and school wide activities going on all the time: open gym, sidewalk sales and seasonal celebrations are just a few of our opportunities to stay