17year old uni student dealing with recent breakup

Pleb
Community Member

Hi my name's B (Not my real name obviously),

Anyway I've been seeing this great girl for a month and somewhere out of the blue she decided it would be best for us to stop seeing one another. After asking her why these were her reasons:

- Personal stuff she needs to work through (Ex-boyfriend cheating on her).

- Not wanting to lose friends by being romantically involved with someone.

- Leading me on and hurting my feelings.

- Finishing High School (We're the same age and went to the same school, just I got bumped up a grade).

Although I respect her decision and am fine with it I still feel hurt because I want to be friends with her still but she isn't giving me the time of day to chat. Part of me wants to hold on because I care about her heaps and wants to support her but the other part wants to cut her loose for my sake as I haven't slept properly without thinking about this whole situation for the last 3 days.

I'm at a loss in this situation as even all the people I talked to about this (good mates, family etc.) don't know either. Please help me:/

8 Replies 8

james1
Community Champion
Community Champion
Hi B,

I'm 24 now, but in year 12 my girlfriend of 3 years broke up with me. She
had her reasons and even though I thought they were valid, it just didn't feel
right. Like you, I wanted to keep in touch in the hope that we could support
each other through year 12 and maybe there'd be a happy ending. The way my
story ended was I went to uni and met someone else I fell in love with and I
never spoke to my first girlfriend again. I still think very highly of her, but
it just didn't happen in the end. And I'm okay with that.



I think you're being very mature in wanting to respect her decision, and I am
very impressed by that. I think you should trust your ex to have made the
decision that was right for her and give her the space she wants. She will have
her own support network so the best thing you can do is focus on yourself. You
can afford to be a bit selfish!

It may be a bit obvious, but can I ask what keeps you awake at night and if
you’ve tried any strategies to go to sleep? It is good to feel sad and hurt,
because that’s how we heal, but we need ways to make sure it doesn’t interrupt our
lives.

Please feel free to respond when you feel ready.

James

Narniakid
Blue Voices Member
Blue Voices Member

Hey B,

Welcome to the forums and thank you for reaching out to us. I am sorry to hear about you and your girlfriend. Break ups are always very hard, particularly when they seem out of the blue like that.

I do think her some of her reasons are valid - perhaps she may well be struggling to move on from her ex, she may not be ready to commit to another person, or maybe she finds the whole idea of a relationship a little overwhelming at this point in her life. There's also the fact that she is still in school and her friends are obviously a very important part of her life. I know that my social circle was extremely valuable to me in school, however when I graduated and we all stopped seeing each other every day, we all matured quite quickly and the idea of a serious relationship seemed less daunting.

I 100% agree with James in saying you seem to be handling it very maturely and I applaud you. Definitely take this time to focus on yourself, your goals, your hobbies and your interests - quite often love turns up when you least expect it!

Crystal

Pleb
Community Member

Thanks very much for the reply!.

Since posting I've been trying to throw myself into my hobbies (Gym and Wrestling) which seems to be working pretty well. However once the rush from exercising wears off I seem to just feel terrible once again which means I've been pushing myself pretty hard everyday for the past week.

In regards to the disrupted sleep it truly depends to be honest, sometimes I'll wake up and cry because I miss her and our little talks or I'll even wake up angry/scared which means I'll go for a 6km run and do some more gym work until I'm absolutely exhausted. On average I'm getting 3hrs sleep which is severely affecting my mood (10 - 11pm sleep : 2 - 3am wakeup).

Finally, she's fine with being friends with me however we seem to be chatting every night. The confusing part is that the responses are either: SUPER FRIENDLY, FLIRTY or DOWNRIGHT COLD and I'm strongly considering muting her from social media for a week or so just to see how it plays out because of it.

I appreciate the encouragement from the both of you (James and Narniakid) but I don't feel like I'm handling this very well at all which is frustrating.

james1
Community Champion
Community Champion

Hi B,

It's great that you're trying to get involved in gym and wrestling again.

I totally understand what you mean by not feeling like you're handling it very well. I'm still reeling a bit from my own break up and it's been just 2 months now. I think it absolutely makes sense that you're struggling. Not only were you going out, but you were great friends, so all of a sudden not having that person with you is really tough.

As before when you were going out, open communication is going to be the key to your long term happiness. The best you can do is just be honest and see what she says. Tell her how you feel, what you're confused about and if she doesn't want to go down that path, you need time to yourself. It's easy to kid ourselves into thinking we're happy to just be friends when we really aren't. On that note, I'd also suggest not muting her from social media without telling her why. However she reacts, you want to make sure you're doing the right thing which is to communicate.

So I won't lie and say it won't hurt more. But at least you'll know you did all you could, whichever way it goes. You're really doing very well by even getting active with gym and wrestling. Keep it up!

As always, please let us know if you're feeling down!

James

Pleb
Community Member

Thanks so much for the advice James,

I'm now at the point where I don't think about the breakup itself or that kinda stuff very often. However whenever I'm home alone or it's quiet somewhere I find that my mind starts to drift to those kinda thoughts and I get overwhelmed with feelings of either: rage or sadness. In order to process these kind of feelings I've also progressed into writing poetry as well as my other hobbies (lame I know lol :P).

In terms of interactions with the ex most of our chats are brief since she's busy with school but we seem to be on good terms (even asked her if she wanted to hang out when she isn't busy). So really in that department of things I'm happy to say that things are looking good.

My only questions at this stage are:

- How do I manage negative thoughts when they overwhelm me like they do sometimes?

- If I can't manage said negative thoughts should I take a break from talking to her for a bit?

- What do I do if being at home (as in living with my family) worsens my current situation, how do I handle this kinda stuff?

james1
Community Champion
Community Champion

Hey great to hear from you again.

Whatever helps us get through right? Haha. And poetry, in fact any writing, is constructive and helps us focus our mind rather than let it race everywhere.

Really good to hear that things are a bit better than before and I hope it continues. As before, keep up the honest and open communication because if it's gotten better, thats even more reason to be open, but certainly give yourselves space too.

In terms of managing emotions, I think that's different from person to person. But the mindset needs to be of acceptance. Accept that you feel that way, and that feeling angry or sad is okay. It's a difficult situation so you don't have to be stoic and emotionless. For me, I let it pass then when I feel a little better, I go for a walk with music. Then I rest or go to sleep if it's night. But the accepting mindset is really important. You can't fight feelings because they're there for a reason and you need to let them out.

Yes, if you find yourself unable to control them and talking to her contributes, you should explain how you are feeling and that you need a break. I personally prefer the idea of setting a date that you will contact her, but others may disagree. I just think it's good so you both know where you stand.

Sorry I don't understand what you mean in your last question. Are there issues at home in terms of what they think of your friendship?

Pleb
Community Member

We (My ex and I) haven't talked for a few weeks after our last conversation because of things that were said to one another. Although it's getting easier dealing with the heartache I still miss her very dearly and feel like I should at least try make amends. However she made it very clear that she'll only make time for people she considers to be close to her and apparently that isn't me anymore. I honestly hate feeling sad and / or guilty whenever I think about her and it's driving me nuts. It just sucks still being inlove with someone like that.

Anyway thanks so much for helping but it's just not working for me at all. Sorry.

james1
Community Champion
Community Champion

Hey thanks for replying back.

It's hard to hear, but it sounds like she's quite adamant that she needs space, and more importantly, that you know within yourself that you need space too.

You said you feel like you need to make amends. I think that shows the strength of your character; you're willing to admit your own wrongs and forgive her for hers. Can I suggest that you leave this loose end with just the reassurance that you are a good person? Unfortunately, some ends never get tied off and we just learn, gradually, to leave them be.

You're an amazing person and this is the time to give yourself a little bit of space and kindness. Just like any cut, the only thing we can do is stitch it up or put a band-aid over, and let the skin heal.

Please feel free to come here and tell us your thoughts and feelings any time B. We're absolutely here to listen and support you.

James