by Sarah Dickinson

Created on: September 27, 2009   Last Updated: September 28, 2009

Someone has broken your heart. You were caught unexpectedly by a betrayal, or maybe you were dumped by your significant other. All of a sudden you are feeling like you've gone astray, you've lost all hope; you are suffering from a physical aching in your chest.

We abhor the feeling of heart ache, and yet we find ourselves obliged to go over memories or fantasies of our ex which make our feelings worse.

How long will it be until the hurt has disappeared and I will be back to feeling myself?

If you are asking yourself this question every day, then don't worry because you are not alone and your heart will mend over time.

So how do you mend a broken heart?

*Remove mementos

The best thing people can do after their relationship has ended, is remove sentimental items you have that remind you of your ex around the house.

Remove old valentine's cards, birthday cards, pictures of you together and their number on your phone.

I'm not saying throw the photos away as they were a part of your life and they don't need to be completely removed from your life unless they did something that really hurt you, just put them away for now and don't look at them until you are completely over them. In a few years time, you can look at the photos and just reminisce on the good times you have had, not feeling anything for your ex. But right now it's important you don't look at photos of you together as it will only make matters worse because you will be looking at the times you were happy when you need to focus on the bad times you have had together so it's easier to move on, instead of thinking of just the positive things that came out of the relationship.

*Take care of yourself

It's important that you look after yourself after a break up, most of us feel terrible after a break up and just want to sit at home all day and comfort eat. However it is important that you eat correctly and exercise, make yourself look good, buy new clothes and give yourself a new look, it could boost your confidence because after all when your heart is broken it doesn't exactly do wonders to your self esteem.

*Talk out your feelings with friends.

Don't bottle up your feelings or it will only make you feel worse, tell your friends how you feel so you can let all your thoughts and emotions, it's so much better to talk about it to friends and express how you feel instead of acting like everything's ok when it isn't it will only catch up to you later.

*Don't fight back the tears

If you want to cry, then cry. Try not to cry in front of your ex, as you need to show them you don't need them to be happy, so when you see them try to act as though you are not affected by the break up, even if you are. However, when you are at home cry as much as you want, it's perfectly normal to cry over someone you have lost. Remember that crying is not a sign of weakness, it is perfectly normal.

*Take a vacation

When you have a broken heart, it often helps to take a vacation; this proves to yourself that you don't need your ex in order to be happy. Vacations are enjoyable and by going away with friends or even by yourself you're bound to have a fairly enjoyable time even if you are still upset about your ex, at least you have proven to yourself you can have a good time without them and that you are quite capable of doing things on your own.

Healing a broken heart can take a lot of time and a good set of friends, but just remember that you are not alone, there are so many others out there who have a broken heart and just like them your heart will heal, looking after yourself and spending time with loved ones will make the process a lot easier.

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