Getting through a rough breakup can be a lot easier if you have a little help working out the details of what you’ll need to do to get your ex back. Sometimes just a helping hand can make all the difference…which is why I have 5 valuable pieces of advice to make this whole experience easier for you.

1. Breakup pain hurts, but it’s no reason to let your life pass you by. Letting your pain get the best of you and keep you from living your life only creates more problems for you to have to deal with. If you’re going to come out on top of all this, you’re going to need to find the strength to keep going regardless of how much pain you feel over this breakup. It’s natural to feel it, but don’t let it control you or hold you down.

2. Alcohol or drugs are not a solution. Turning to these for some comfort from your pain only serves to magnify your problems by further depressing you. If comfort is what you’re looking for, find it in a friend and not in a bottle.

3. Cut off all contact with your ex for about a month. This has an entire list of positive effects, but the main one you should worry about right now is the break it gives you to pull yourself together before trying to get him back. The time away from each other will help both of you balance yourselves out, so that things can run more smoothly after the month is up.

4. Go by your head, not your heart. Emotional turmoil like this can lead you astray where your mind knows you shouldn’t go. Trust in a solid plan, not in whatever your first impulses are.

5. It’s possible that you and your ex aren’t destined by fate to be together forever. I’m not telling you to just give up, but if everything fails and it just doesn’t seem to be meant to be you may have to live with that. Be prepared for it, even though that may not end up being the case (it often isn’t!).

These may just be 5 tips, but they can really help you out if you take them to heart. This can be a difficult situation, or it can be a lot simpler. It’s really up to you, so make the choice now. I genuinely hope this article helps you get your ex back and get your life together again.

The best advice I can possibly give you right now is to make sure you have a plan. This is a great thing to be working on during that month of no contact, and it’ll really come in handy when that time is up and it’s time to work towards getting him back. Going into this without a plan or underlying strategy just isn’t wise, and you’ll probably find yourself having a lot harder of a time without it.