After a breakup, many people experience raw feelings of sadness and anger that can cause them to make terrible decisions. These decisions could impact your recovery and lead to even more sadness and anger in the long run. Here are just 7 breakup blunders to avoid.

Don’t immediately start dating again

 The loneliness of not having a companion can cause many people to dive straight back into dating. However, this doesn’t allow you time to work on yourself, which you need after a break up. Enjoy the freedom of being single and pursue personal goals and do things you weren’t able to do with your partner. This will help you to become more self-confident and attract someone in the future who aligns with your new goals rather than finding someone to fill your old void.

Don’t immediately try to win your ex back

 If you’re planning to get your ex back, you’re best giving it time. Having a few months away from one another will give you time to think about what you really want and you won’t just be hooking up out of comfort. If you’re both pining for each other after a few months, it could be worth giving a relationship a second chance. However, you may find that those feelings of wanting to get back with your ex fade after several months when you’ve had time to assess what really matters.

Don’t be a hermit

 Isolating yourself from everyone and wallowing in your own sadness is one of the worst things you can do. Being social and talking to other people can help you to recover by making you realise that there’s more to life than your ex. Other people can be a positive distraction or they could be a form of support – either way, stay in touch with your friends.

Don’t stalk your ex on social media

 Following your ex on social media is just a way of trying to keep them in your life. You need to cut yourself off from them as painful as it may be – it’s often best unfriending one another so that you don’t keep seeing them on your wall. In the future, you may be able to become social media friends again once the two of you have moved on.

Don’t keep making contact with your ex (unless you have to)

 You may live in the same area, work at the same job or go to the same school – if so, it may be impossible not to make contact. However, you should try to prevent making voluntary contact with your ex whenever possible. Delete their phone number if you have a bad habit for drunk texting them and try to hang out in different places to avoid bumping into them.

Don’t hang onto your ex’s stuff

 Hanging onto your ex’s possessions is a similar form of trying to keep them in your life. Get rid of as many reminders of your relationship as you can – at the very least, put stuff in the attic where you can’t access it.

Don’t try to take revenge

 Taking revenge on an ex means that you’re still focusing all your energy on them. The best thing you can do is ignore them entirely and move on with your life, no matter what they may have done to anger you. Otherwise, it could just lead to a destructive cycle of revenge between you both.