How to Get Over a Break Up...

A few nights ago, I went out with some friends of mine. I need to get out of this weird slump. You know the place where you have things planned out, where you're comfortable with yourself and your relationship, and then everything is all of a sudden uncertan? The rug got pulled out from under me, and I'm still trying to find my footing. I definitely still tumble, I still trip up. The sadness just doesn't disappear; it's a process. A long process, at that.

I'm not perfect. If I sit there and think, I obsess -- What happened? What did I do? What could I have done different? I'd be lying if I said there weren't days where I couldn't get out of bed.

It's hard, but I've been working hard on trying to change my patterns. We've all done it - Break up, stay in your PJs all day with ice-cream and french-fries, watch Lifetime movies. Instead of focusing on how he made me feel, I'm trying to focus on how I can make myself feel.

Walking helps. I couldn't do it for myself at first, so I just did it because I know how much my little dog LOVES it. She goes crazy, it makes her SO happy.

I've gone from walking her around the block, to walking her to 30 minutes, to going out for 45 minutes and incorporating jogging. Every little mini-goal accomplished feels so great. For now, my goals are things like - Walk for 45 minutes, jog from this car to that stop sign, run this entire stretch of road, etc. Eventually, I will build up to jogging the whole 45 minutes.

But it's NOT FOR WEIGHT.

It's for health. It's for peace of mind. I like to eat - you don't become a size 16 because you hate food - but I've struggled with an eating disorder that I was hospitalized for, and I can't get wrapped up in food or it's just disasterous. I just know I feel better when I walk every day and eat good, whole foods.

So, there is my recipe for easing the heartbreak of a break-up. Get active. Get your friends. Get healthy. Go out, listen to music, have a drink. Your friends are there for you to lean on. Utilize what you have and take care of yourself -- Focus on how you feel instead of how he made you feel.