Relationships

Paging Doctor Love: 5 Ways Millennials Can Cure Their Heartbreak

by Bailey Russell

Today, I received my diagnosis.

At first, I just sat there and tried to comprehend it. I couldn’t focus beyond the tears, but I figured it was coming.

Many of us have received this diagnosis before, and some cases are worse than others.

My diagnosis isn’t fatal, although it seems that way right now. It’s one that will heal over time.

So what is my diagnosis? Heartbreak.

I've been experiencing side effects, including the aching pain in my gut and the random outburst of tears because the Wendy’s Frosty my roommate brought home reminded me of times before the pain.

Unfortunately, with this diagnosis, other symptoms are insomnia, isolation and loss of appetite.

Although I wasn’t prescribed something to overcome this diagnosis, I’ve gathered many opinions and tips from those who have experienced it before.

Here are just a few:

1. Stay off social media.

You don’t want to see the cause of your diagnosis with a new potential victim, do you?

You’re trying to heal, not make it worse.

Staying off social media may be a form of isolation, but it's one for the better.

2. Get out and do something.

Don’t isolate yourself; it’s one of the symptoms, and it will only lead to hours of being curled up in a ball with constant tears flowing down your face.

Get your mind off the cause, and do something that makes you happy, whatever that may be.

Get out of bed, get ready, feel confident and go.

Surround yourself with positivity.

3. Don’t fall asleep thinking of the cause.

Again, one symptom may be insomnia, and it will end with you lying in your bed with nothing but tears and horrible thoughts, just like isolating yourself will.

Instead, fall asleep to a movie, preferably a comedy. Don’t watch some romantic movie that reminds you of your diagnosis and makes you break down again.

Steer clear of that garbage, and go for something that will make you laugh. Netflix has a ton of awful comedies, but they’re much better than romance movies.

4. Find a hobby.

If you don’t already have a hobby, I suggest you get one ASAP. It will only help in the long run.

A hobby isn’t something that is only necessary after the heartbreak, but any spare time you have should be spent on your hobby or passion.

5. Don’t worry about anyone else but yourself.

You shouldn’t deal with other people’s problems when you're worried about overcoming your own. And you definitely shouldn’t be worried about the cause of this diagnosis.

You are better and worth more than that.

If someone makes you feel like you aren’t worth anything, you need to focus on yourself.

Your intelligence, your inner and outer beauty and your strength will pull you through this.

Curing your diagnosis will take time.

They say it takes half of the time you were with the cause to cure your heartbreak, but if you follow the tips above, it may be sooner.

I don’t expect to be curled up in my bed for the next two and a half years, but I also plan on staying off social media, going out with friends and family, watching humorous movies, continuing my hobby as a blogger and finding my self-worth.

So yes, after five years, something unexpected happened, and I knew this was coming.

I don't know how bad my symptoms may be or how long it will take to cure my heartbreak, but I know a lot of people love me.

They will brighten my day and show me I am not worthless, even though I may feel like that right now.

As my mom always says, “This too shall pass. You’re good enough, you’re smart enough and gosh darn it, people like you.”