by Jade Fitzgerald

Created on: November 10, 2009   Last Updated: November 11, 2009

Breaking up with someone does not always mean you no longer fancy them. But whatever the reason for the split, it's never easy and most people really struggle to get over it. Here are some signs that you're not over your ex.

- You act like you're still together: Your mate mentions a film they've seen, you reply: "Oh, we were planning on seeing that." You go to the shop and still buy their favourite snacks. Then comes the dreaded moment when you see your ex holding hands with somebody else. You throw a massive hissy fit and feel like they've cheated on you. You're no longer together, move on!

- You only date people who remind you of your ex: If your last 3 dates have all had the same name and all have the same look as your ex then you're not dating any of these people, you're dating memories of your ex.

- Everything reminds you of them: You hear a love song on the radio and think of your ex, fair enough. But when you manage to link every film, from The Matrix to Borat, back to your ex and Waking Up in Vegas by Katy Perry drives you to tears as you reminisce about the first time you woke up in their bed, then there's a problem.

- You bring up your ex in every conversation: You're discussing going to see a band with your mates, "Charlie loved that band." You're walking on the beach, "Matti hates fish." Nobody cared about your ex's likes and dislikes when you were with them, they care even less now. You need to resolve to mention them less and less every single day until the only mention of them is during a "what was I thinking?" conversation.

- You refuse to throw away memories: You've got movie tickets from every film you've ever seen together, teddy bears, millions of photo's, an egg shell from when they first made you breakfast etc. All this stuff does is serve as a reminder of what you've lost. If you can't let go of the memories then you'll never be able to let go of the relationship and move on.

- You ring, text and Facebook them: You text them pretending to be drunk just to give you an excuse to text them the next day and apologise and ask how they are. You withhold your number and ring them just to hear their voice. You visit their Facebook page more than your own. You need to stop it now before you become a fully-fledged stalker.

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