Don’t let the breakup blues beat you down; as much as heartbreak hurts, it is possible to channel it into something good! You may be hurting right now over your lost love, but once that passes, you may be surprised to find that you’ve emerged from your breakup as a stronger, better version of yourself. Here are five reasons you’re stronger after a breakup:
1. You regain your independence.
Part of being in a relationship is making compromises and learning to lean on your boyfriend for support. There’s nothing wrong with that, but there’s certainly nothing wrong with having some independence as well. When you become single after being in a relationship, especially if it was a long one, one of the best parts is regaining your independence. You have no one to answer to anymore, and can just be your own woman for a while!
2. You can turn the pain into something positive.
Everyone has a little bit of a creativity (it doesn’t matter whether you think you’re any good or not), and breakups always inspire great works. Whether you like to draw, write fiction, compose songs, or anything else that requires an emotional connection to your work, you can channel the pain from the breakup into your creative side and let it produce something amazing. Even if no one else will ever see or hear what you do, the pain will inspire you. Half of your favorite musicians/artists/etc probably have gotten there start this way, why can’t you?
3. You have more free time that can be used for something good.
Relationships consume a lot of time, so when you find yourself fresh out of one, you might not know what to do with all of it anymore. Not to fear though, as all this free time will be essential in emerging from your breakup as a stronger woman. Now, you have no guy snoring in the bed next to you preventing you from getting the rest you need. You have no excuse for not exercising, and this is the perfect time to pick up new, healthier eating habits as well. Spend your free time doing something productive, such as learning to cook new, healthy recipes, and you’ll find yourself moving on as you do it.
4. You will be happier.
It may hard to believe, but once your heart has begun healing from the heartbreak, you’ll be happier than you were in the relationship. Breakups happen for a reason, sometimes for many reasons, and even if you didn’t realize it at the time, those reasons were taking a toll on your mental and emotional well-being. Looking back now, you can probably see that the signs of an impending breakup were there all along, and it was certainly affecting you on a day-to-day basis. Now, there’s no more worries, no more fighting, no more undesired compromises. You’re going to end up thankful for the breakup eventually, although it may take some time.
5. You learn from the experience.
The best way that you will emerge stronger from a breakup is hopefully that you will learn from the experience. Something can be learned from every relationship, so try and take away something helpful. Maybe you did something wrong in the relationship that you now have regrets about–what’s done is done, but you can apply your new-found knowledge the next time you’re in a relationship. Or, perhaps, there were warning signs and red flags from the guy you were dating that you ignored. Now you know what to look for and what to avoid. Hopefully, the fact that this relationship failed will help your next one to be more successful.
An ex-boyfriend is never worth despairing over, so no matter how much you may be hurting from the breakup, do everything you can to turn an unhappy ending into a learning experience. You will find that you will come out of this just fine, although your heart may be telling you otherwise right now, and you will actually emerge from the breakup as a stronger woman.