This one goes out to all girls missing love.
Love is a beautiful and immense part of life that can bring us so much joy and happiness. Having a deep connection with someone fills a void we never knew was there and finds a piece of ourselves that we never knew was missing.
Love comes from several different connections – whether it’s a romantic partner, a close friend, or family – and the people we love can fill our lives with meaning and purpose and keep us grounded.
Unfortunately, life can be unpredictable and sometimes the people we love most, cease to be part of it. Missing love can come in many forms – you may be longing for a partner you’ve recently broken up with, a friend who has lost contact or a family member or close friend who has passed away. As unbearable pain creeps in, we must find ways to cope with this absence of love to make the pain less overwhelming and more manageable.
Here are some methods to cope with missing love:
1. Acknowledge your feelings
According to the article “Understanding Grief” by Jane E. Brody from The New York Times, one of the most important things to remember when dealing with grief is that your feelings are valid. You shouldn’t feel guilty about your emotions and attempt to invalidate them. Everyone experiences grief differently, and there is no right or wrong way to get through it. Whether you want to cry, scream, or curl up in bed for a while, go ahead and do what feels right for you.
Self-Care
It can be hard to focus and accomplish daily tasks when missing love. However, practicing self-care is vital to improving your mood and helping you feel more grounded. Christina Caron wrote in a New York Times article that self-care is critical when coping with missing love. Try to get enough sleep, eat nourishing food, and do things that make you genuinely happy. It could be as simple as taking a long warm bath, enjoying nature, or practicing physical exercise.
3. Talk to someone
Feeling isolated and lonely only exacerbates the pain of missing love. People are often inclined to distance themselves from those they care about when experiencing pain. However, doing that will only make you feel worse and detached from the world. If you have someone in your life that you trust and feel comfortable talking to, try opening up to them.
Irene S. Levine wrote in a Wall Street Journal article that reaching out to friends and finding new hobbies and interests can be especially helpful when coping with the loss of a friendship.
Sometimes it can be hard to talk to friends and family about your pain, or maybe you don’t feel comfortable doing so. That’s okay – there are other resources available to you. Consider seeking support from a therapist or a support group. They can provide a safe space and offer helpful strategies for you to open up and cope with your feelings.
4. Avoid unhealthy coping mechanisms
When dealing with loss and the pain of missing someone, it’s tempting to engage in unhealthy coping mechanisms, such as substance abuse, self-harming, and overreacting, to avoid the pain. Yet, these coping mechanisms will only worsen the situation in the long run. So instead, try to find healthy ways to cope with your emotions.
In the article “How to Deal With Missing Someone,” Candis McDow suggests healthy alternatives to cope with missing love. Interacting with others and attempting to make new connections can help positively distract you. McDow suggests also meditating to deal with a convoluted state of mind or writing a letter to let your feelings out. Although it may be tempting to avoid your emotions in harmful ways, there are better alternatives for coping with lost love.
5. Be patient
Finally, be patient and give yourself time to work through your emotions. When missing love, it’s easy to get caught up in a vicious cycle of self-hatred and depressive emotions towards yourself. But with time, things will start to feel a little bit easier and you won’t feel as heavy as you do now. Healing is a process and everyone goes at their own pace.
However, there’s also a silver lining to missing love. It reminds us of the connections we’ve made and the love we’ve shared, and it can motivate us to cherish the relationships we have in our lives, while also being a transformative experience. By caring for ourselves, seeking support, and finding healthy ways to cope with our emotions, we can be more resilient and emotionally stable. With time, we may even find ourselves opening up to new experiences and new connections, finding love in unexpected places and unexpected ways.