Breaking up with someone can be a painful experience, but it’s important to remember that loving yourself after a breakup is essential for moving forward and finding happiness.
Whether it was a toxic relationship or you just grew apart, the end of a romantic relationship can leave you feeling heartbroken. Bad things sometimes happen to wonderful people and it’s important that you heal and process your emotions from the past relationship.
While you may be feeling extremely low right after a breakup, it’s crucial to honor your emotions and prioritize healing.
When you acknowledge parts of yourself that need healing, it opens the door to many positive experiences.
In fact, it’s a great opportunity for personal growth and to become the best version of yourself. In this article, we will discuss the best ways to love yourself after a breakup and move on from a bad relationship.
Why is Loving Yourself After a Breakup So Important?
When you prioritize your well-being and emotional recovery, you may process your feelings in a healthy way. You may experience a range of emotions and every day might be different than the last.
You may wonder why it’s so hard to get over a breakup and a study in the Journal of Neurophysiology can explain why. According to this study, breaking up can sometimes create feeling similar to withdrawals. When your relationship ends, dopamine may decrease. If you were constantly getting positive reinforcement from your partner and your dopamine was spiking, it may be incredibly hard to cut things off. You may feel sadness due to this lack of dopamine.
So how do you get through a breakup?
By showing yourself love and kindness, you give yourself permission to feel your emotions, process your thoughts, and take the necessary steps toward rebuilding your life.
It’s with new healthy habits and acts of self-love that you may begin to feel better. In fact, self-care and positive habits can also have a big impact on your mood and increase dopamine.
Additionally, practicing self-care can help reduce stress and anxiety, allowing you to focus on your personal growth and development. Ultimately, taking the time to love and care for yourself after a breakup can help you heal and move forward toward a happier, more fulfilling life.
Self-Care Tips and Ideas For Self-Love
We’ve put together a list of a few ideas and activities to help build up your self-esteem and create self-love. These ideas are not a one-fit-all solution to a breakup but may help you create a healthy relationship with yourself.
While you may have heard of some or all these ideas before, this guide is a sign for your to prioritize yourself. On the journey of loving yourself after a breakup, you’ll want to explore new hobbies and activities.
Let’s jump into the list of self-care activities that we’ve put together for you.
Take Time for Yourself
The first step in loving yourself after a breakup is to take some time for yourself. This can be a period of time where you focus solely on your own needs and wants. Spend time doing things that make you happy, like picking up a new hobby or exploring new places.
Taking time for yourself can also mean being alone with your thoughts and feelings, which can be difficult but also necessary for healing.
One of the best ways to love yourself after a breakup is to make sure that you get specific about what your needs and wants are. What does the best version of you look like in 5 years? What would make you feel better about this breakup?
By focusing on yourself, who you are, and who you want to be, you will be able to nourish your mind, heart, and body.
Sometimes it’s just the little things that will make you feel better. It might be spending some time each day to read your favorite book or baking yourself your favorite cookies.
If it’s been a long time since you’ve taken time for yourself, view the time as a gift. Do things that you’ve always wanted to do and prioritize your time alone.
Practice Self-Love Affirmations
One of the best ways to boost your sense of self-worth after a breakup is to practice self-love affirmations.
These are positive affirmations that you say to yourself to remind yourself of your own worth and importance.
Some examples include “I am worthy of love and respect,” “I am enough just as I am,” and “I deserve to be happy.” Repeat these affirmations to yourself every day, especially when you’re feeling down or negative.
If you are experiencing a broken heart, you may be experiencing many emotions and questioning yourself. This is not a time to engage in negative self-talk. Conversely, you should be focused on positive self-talk and building your confidence.
It takes lots of courage to love someone. Remember that you are worthy of love and positive relationships. You are courageous and brave. You have lots of love to give and will receive lots of love.
Think of it this way – you are the driver in your life and you are in charge of your own happiness. Use this time to build positive habits around the way that you think about yourself and talk about yourself.
Don’t know if this will work for you? Even saying one self-love affirmation is a great start!
Surround Yourself with Positive Influences
Surrounding yourself with positive influences is also crucial in the healing process after a breakup. Spend time with friends and family members who uplift you and support you.
Maybe this is the perfect time for a girl’s trip?
Avoid negative influences, including social media accounts that make you feel bad about yourself. Instead, follow accounts that promote positivity, self-love, and personal growth.
If you have a best friend, ask them to go grab dinner or watch a movie. Sometimes the best way to clear your mind is to remind yourself of all the wonderful relationships you have in your life. Even spending a little time with your friends and family can make you feel rejuvenated. Focus on the people who love you and the amazing people in your life.
Experiencing the love of your family and friends will make it easier to get through a bad breakup. Spend time with others who will make you a better person. It might be a good idea to make new friends also. Try out a yoga class or go to a meet-up!
Put Together a Self-Care Routine
If you ask us what you should do to love yourself more, one of the answers will always be self-care! And we don’t just mean that it’s something you should do in your free time. When you are healing from a breakup, the most important thing is to focus on how to love yourself.
Take time to understand what types of self-care you like. There are so many different types of self-care: mental, physical, and emotional just to name a few.
Once you figure out what type of self care you’re interested in, create a routine. Stick to your routine and prioritize new activities that are focused on self-love.
Take time to exercise, eat well, and get enough sleep. Take care of your mental health by practicing mindfulness techniques, like meditation or yoga. Don’t be afraid to seek extra help, like therapy or a self-help book, if you’re struggling with negative thoughts and emotions.
Sometimes the most impactful thing you can do is prioritize alone time. It’s during this time that you can discover different ways to love yourself.
Something as simple as trying new activities that are outside your comfort zone can help you build your feelings of self worth.
We believe that self care is always important for your self-love journey even if you are in a relationship. The most important part of practicing self care is that after you practice, you feel good about yourself.
You don’t need to buy into the retail therapy and eat a pint of ice cream narrative. While a good retail therapy session can help you feel better, when it comes to loving yourself, it’s sometimes deeper than just buying a new pair of shoes.
Try out self love activities that build confidence and combat any feelings of low self-worth.
Set aside time, put it on your calendar, make it happen!
Don’t be Afraid to Ask For Help
Asking for help is not a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. Being able to show your vulnerability and seek help is one of our favorite self-love ideas.
Seeking therapy or talking to a licensed professional will give you a safe space to talk through your feelings and emotions. In this day and age, there are so many ways to access help. There are some text-only resources, live counseling sessions, our you may be able to seek help anonymously.
When it comes to getting help, this is a sign that you love yourself enough to let your guard down. Be proud of yourself for being open to this and view it as a way to add a healthy tool into your tool belt of healing.
Write a Love Letter to Yourself
Writing a love letter to yourself is a great way to boost your self-esteem and remind yourself of your own worth. In the letter, write down all the things you love about yourself and all the amazing things you have accomplished. Keep this letter handy and read it whenever you need a little boost of self-love.
Once you start writing about all the wonderful things you love about yourself, you may see an instant mood adjustment. It may not seem like a big deal but when you begin to call out all the things you love about yourself, you’ll realize that you’re an absolute catch.
The love letter to yourself may seem funny at first but think about all the things you love about yourself. What’s the first thing on your list? Your natural beauty, creativity, or ability to make anyone smile?
Practice Gratitude
Sometimes when we experience negative emotions, it’s hard to change our attitude. With this simple exercise – thinking about 3 things that you’re grateful for, you may be able to change your mood instantly.
Practicing gratitude is a great way to train your mind to seek out good things in your life. When you begin your day with gratitude, you’ll prime your brain to find the good things in your life.
We even suggest practicing gratitude at the end of the day. Think about what you’re happy about and what went well – did you receive good news?
If it’s your first time practicing gratitude, you may have a hard time trying to find 3 things that you’re grateful for in the beginning. But as you practice more, it will become more natural.
Something as simple as waking up in your body, eating a nourishing breakfast, and listening to your favorite podcasts are examples of simple gratitude.
Gratitude and loving yourself after a breakup goes hand in hand. When you focus on finding the good things in your life, you’ll see that there is so much to love about you and your life.
You’ve worked hard to get where you are, you should be proud of yourself and the life you’ve built.
Don’t Rush Into a New Relationship
While it may be tempting to jump into a new relationship after a breakup, it’s important to take the time to focus on yourself and your own personal growth goals. Rushing into a new relationship is not ideal until you truly love yourself. If you want to live your best life, focus on yourself. They always say – Happiness is an inside job (Sylvia Boorstein).
There are better things waiting for you but they do not need to be rushed.
You have the rest of your life for romantic relationships and you do not need a relationship to define you.
When it comes to loving yourself after a breakup, the focus should be on you and not on finding a new relationship.
These words may be harsh, but they are important for you to hear.
Create a Healthy Environment – in the Physical and Digital World
It may be difficult to unfollow a former partner or purge your home of their things. If these things still bring you joy and you can look at them without getting sad, you may not want to purge them.
On the other hand, if your room and space are full of old memories – photographs and other things, it may be best to store them or throw them away. In order to start a new and improved relationship with yourself and love yourself more, create an environment that is positive and cozy.
Think about re-arranging your home or buying a new comfy blanket. Can you buy yourself some new fuzzy socks you love and create a reading nook in your home? Clean/declutter and create a space that makes you happy.
Aside from your physical space, think about your digital real estate.
If you are following your ex on all social media platforms, you may want to unfollow them. This can lead down a destructive path of constantly being worried about what they are doing, who they are with, and what their life is like.
Remove them from social media and build an online presence that you are happy about. Sometimes one of the most important things you can do is actually take a digital detox.
If you’re not there yet and can’t go through a full-blown digital detox, check out these tips to build a healthy relationship with social media.
Final Thoughts
If you are reading this post and you have just experienced the end of a relationship, we want you to know that things will get better. We hope that this guide helps you navigate through this time and we want you to keep your head up. Loving yourself after a breakup is no easy feat but you can do it, and you will do it!
We’d also like to drop a quick reminder that we are not mental health professionals or doctors.
If you were in an unhealthy relationship, it may be beneficial for you to seek therapy or professional help. You do not have to go through a breakup alone. Reach out to friends, and family, and seek help from licensed professionals.
xx,
T&W
1 comment
[…] reading dating books can be a form of self-care, allowing women to reflect on their own dating experiences and make positive changes in their […]