Relationships: Ending Things
Sometimes things don’t work out: people grow apart, they realize they want something different, they just get bored, there are lots of reasons why a relationship might come to an end. Let’s talk about how we can work through relationships ending as thoughtfully as we can.
Breaking Up
Telling someone it’s over (or hearing it for yourself) is never easy. Check out our info page on how to do it here: Breaking Up Is Hard To Do. Remember that while it can be an emotionally painful experience, being open, honest, and communicative with your partner can help things a lot. Think about what you know about the person, how they like to be communicated with, and try to keep that in mind when ending things. It’s not often we regret being kind, especially toward people we once cared a lot about. That doesn’t mean no one will have hurt feelings, but it does mean we can try to soften the blow. Check out our blog post How To Tell Someone You’re Breaking Up With Them for some more tips.
Being Broken Up With
Sometimes it is us, not them and that can be a tricky thing to deal with. Rejection’s hard! It can bring up a lot of feelings about our own self-worth and might even make us regret being so vulnerable in the first place, but learning how to manage your emotions when it happens can help you process things. Our info page Dealing With Rejection talks about just that. One thing that always helps is to look at all of our relationships as learning experiences: what did you learn about yourself? How you like to be talked to? How you like to talk to others? Are there things you want to work on to become a better, kinder, more emotionally intelligent person? Maybe there are signs you now know to look out for in your next relationship and thinking about the one you were just in can help you feel more confident addressing them.
Moving on
Whether you were the dump-er or the dump-ee, you’ll likely still have some tough emotions to sit with and work through. Read our info page Moving On After A Breakup for some tips on how to do that.
