16 Unexpected Lessons You Learn When You Go Through A Breakup

1. Heartbreak doesn’t make sense. Sometimes it’s just random and unfair, and you can’t do anything about that.

2. You develop a keen sense for who your real friends are, because they’re the ones that still stick around you when you’re temporarily boring and sad and fragile.

3. The world is a different color when you’re sad, and sometimes, even on the most beautiful day, you have trouble processing that it is, in fact, a beautiful day. This is normal, and this will go away.

4. Netflix is an appropriate substitute for a boyfriend or girlfriend, for a brief amount of time.

5. …but there is such a thing as too much Netflix, because it can be easy to stop living in your own world and start living in someone else’s.

6. You can get pretty good at hiding a broken heart and putting on a happy face, which is a good reminder for you that you never know what someone else is going through, no matter how serene or put-together they look.

7. Music sounds different when you’ve gone through a breakup. But not always in a bad way. Sometimes, when you’re in pain, one of the most beautiful and comforting sounds in the world is that of someone singing about the same exact thing that you feel every single moment.

8. It is hard to be by yourself again. It’s weird to go to sleep without someone telling you that they love you, it’s strange to have exciting news or a bad day and not have one specific person that you always go to first about it. But eventually, you learn that there’s plenty of other people who want to hear your good news, and plenty of people who care about you enough to try to cheer you up on a bad day. You just have to keep your eyes open.

9. There are certain things you can only learn about yourself when you’re completely on your own and unattached to someone else.

10. It’s okay to have a glass of wine at three o’clock in the afternoon every once in a while, especially on a hard day where you need to feel a little lighter.

11. Being lonely and being alone are two completely different things, and this is your chance to figure out exactly what that difference means.

12. Trashy reality shows are a great way to remind you, one way or another, that maybe your current mental and emotional situation isn’t as bad as you think it is.

13. No matter what you’re going through, some days of your life are going to be significantly harder, uglier, and more painful than others. But they always end, and a new day always follows.

14. Just because you experienced heartache doesn’t mean you will immediately meet someone new as a sort of reward. Sometimes, it will take a very long time for you to meet someone again. You can never plan it, you can never predict it. All you can do is be open to love.

15. Holding on to anger is only going to make it take that much longer for you to move on.

16. Romantic love is important, but it’s definitely not the only kind of love that exists in the world.