A short, practical guide for getting through a breakup without pretending it doesn’t hurt.

1. The urge to text them isn’t love, it’s withdrawal. Your brain got used to a person the same way it gets used to anything else. Missing them is real, but it fades on its own timeline, not because something is wrong with you.

2. Write the text, don’t send it. When the urge hits, write out exactly what you want to say. Save it in notes. 90% of the time, rereading it an hour later shows you didn’t need to send it.

3. Grieve the relationship you thought you had, not just the person. Ask: what am I actually missing, the person or just not being alone?

4. Cut contact for real. Mute, don’t just unfollow. “We’re still friends” right after a breakup rarely holds, and it isn’t a moral failure to admit that.

5. Rebuild one routine at a time. Pick the hour of the day you miss them most and fill it with something specific and scheduled, not just “staying busy.”

6. Know the difference between healing and numbing. Distraction helps short term; it only becomes a problem if it replaces actually feeling it.

Plain language, no fluff, no therapy jargon. Just what to do next.