Relationship Break Up Stages For Men

Break ups are never any fun. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been dating for years or just a few months; either way, the pain can feel overwhelming.

Maybe the relationship ended because she lost interest, or perhaps the situation was more complicated – but now it is time to move on. Even if you don’t want to, there is a light at the end of this difficult tunnel… and it is time to start taking the necessary steps to heal.

Here are the common break up stages for men.

Shock

The first stage of a break up for most men is shock. The break up may have come out of the blue, or maybe you were certain the problems could be fixed. Either way, it is a shock to the system that you are single again, and it can be difficult to process everything. You may feel like your mind is racing, or that you can barely think coherently at all.

Sorrow

Once the break up starts to sink in it is normal to feel sorrow. You will start to grieve the relationship that you had, as well as plans for the future that you had together. This can be extremely painful, so go easy on yourself and speak to loved ones when you are feeling particularly low.

Anger

Sometimes men feel anger after the sadness. You may think; How could they leave me? How could they throw everything away?

This can be difficult, but remind yourself that these feelings are totally normal. Just make sure you don’t act on the feelings negatively by showing up at their house or texting them; instead, vent to a friend who truly cares for you.

Sorrow

After the anger passes you may feel sad again. This can feel frustrating, but again it is a very normal part of the grieving process. Being sad is okay; it is just another step in the healing process.

Self-Care

After a while the feelings of sadness will start to subside, and you will be able to truly focus on recovery. One way to do this is with proper self-care. Drop unhealthy habits that you have picked up (such as staying in bed, binge-eating and negative self-talk) and replace them with new, healthy habits that will make you happy (such as gratitude affirmations, exercise and socialising).

Acceptance

As you work towards self-love you will start to truly accept the break up. You will accept that you are not getting back together, and you will think of your ex less. Of course you will still think of them sometimes, but it will be far less regular (and it will cause less emotional pain).

Zero Contact

The final step is zero contact. Don’t text them back, don’t watch their Instagram stories and don’t call them when you feel low. Delete their number and their social media profiles so that you don’t feel tempted to reach out again in the future.

This can be very difficult, but it will help you to put the event in the past. This will make it easier for you to truly move on.