Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.

When you sick with a bad cough, what do you usually do? You take medication right, preferably cough syrup cause that will heal your cough and make you better. Yeah it taste awful but over time the dreadful feeling will cease to exist, and you feel a lot healthier physically.

But what do you do when you are trying to recover from a broken heart? There is no medication you can take that will make you heart feel any better, well there is but that’s a different kind of heart pain. What are you supposed to do when all you want to do is lie in a dark hole away from the world and cry? Is there anything you can do?

Yes. Sure you may not feel like it right now, hell I don’t even feel like it but just close your eyes for a moment take a deep breath and open your eyes. Make a playlist for yourself right now, title it “Road to Recovery” or something lame like that; it helps when you feel alone. Put songs on there that you know will help you feel better, don’t ever put songs on there that will remind you of the past cause that will put you right back where you started. Find songs that will make you feel better about yourself rather than hating your very soul, songs that will make you smile and believe things will get better in due time. If you need help getting started here are a few songs from my playlist; give them a listen.

            The Middle- Jimmy Eat World

            Keep Your Head Up- Andy Grammar

            A Better Place, A Better Time- Streetlight Manifesto

            Float On- Modest Mouse

            Perfect- Pink

            Happier- A Fine Frenzy
            Red Rubber Ball- Streetlight Manifesto

There are other things you could do as well, go for a walk with a friend. A friend that will be there for you through the tears and laughs, it really helps and I am blessed to have the few who have been here for me. It really is a blessing to have friends who aren't going to judge you and tell you you’re dumb or that your problem is nothing compared to what other people are going through. You know what, don’t you EVER let anyone tell you that your issue is not important, because it is. That is your battle and if people have their head so far up their butt to help then obviously you need to make better friendship choices.

Go for a run, if you don’t want to go with a friend then take your iPod or phone or whatever you listen to music on, pssh take you computer for all I care , just go! Even if you are out of shape, running will make you feel better about yourself because not only are you trying to make an effort on taking your mind off of things but you are also making an effort on bettering your health by exercising. After one day see how you feel and if you like it then keep it up, it is good for you.

Write a letter. Write every feeling you have in your head and heart, write the good and the bad. Tell the person how you feel and why you feel that way, tell them how much you miss them and what you wish you could have done differently. When you are done, fold it up, put it in an envelope and hide it. Hold onto it for a few weeks, let those weeks turn into months and if nothing has changed, let it be.

Just let time take a hold of it all, yes it’s going to hurt no denying that but use this as a learning experience. Continue living life as you would before the relationship even began, sure it is easier said than done believe me, I know. But life is too short to be depressed and want to harm yourself over what wasn’t there, go ahead and call me a hypocrite because I know I need to take my own advice before helping you. But did you ever stop and think that maybe by helping you I am helping myself?

Look at this broken heart as cough syrup and your life at the moment as you being under the weather, which you are. In order to feel better physically and mentally you have to wait for this cough syrup to go down and heal you. In the end that is all you can do, things will get better it just takes time. Learn to enjoy every minute of your life and be happy now. Do not wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future; every minute you have left should me be enjoyed and savored.

xoxo,
alicia