Going through a breakup or divorce can feel like the world is ending, so it goes without saying that being heartbroken during corona virus truly feels apocalyptic. After a relationship ends, everything in your life changes. You’re no longer with the person you spent all your time with, your routines change and you may have also dealt with major logistical changes (a move, figuring out how to co parent, etc). And now the whole world has shifted in ways that are extremely unsettling. Over 1 billion people are staying home right now to try to slow the spread of corona virus. Every day the situation changes and we’re all glued to the news.
A global pandemic may provide a brief distraction from heartbreak as you navigate the impact on your daily life, but the pain in your heart doesn’t disappear. You may feel especially alone right now as everyone is focused on corona virus, but it’s okay to reach out to your close friends and family and let them know you’re struggling and need extra support. The people who love you the most will understand you can’t just press pause on heartbreak.
As you figure out your plan of action, consider incorporating these elements into your daily routine:
–Daily online yoga and meditation
–Watch a streaming event for free (maybe have friends on video conference co-watch with you)
–Regular video calls with friends and family members
-Create a group chat with your closest friends
-If you can still exercise outside, aim to take a walk once a day around the block for some fresh air
-Delete dating apps for a few weeks to give you a break
-Spend 10-15 minutes each day journaling on how you’re feeling that day
Though some have found things on the whole easier, it’s not the case for everyone. Self-described party girl Carla, 23, has found that being furloughed and stuck at home has led to over thinking, anxiety and feeling lethargic.
“I’ve also spent a lot of time in bed with no energy or will power to want to get up feeling sorry for myself and wallowing in self-pity,” she said.
She’s decided to take up meditation, something she never had time for with her busy cabin crew job, and found it helped her feel a lot more positively about her situation.
Care worker Adelaide Percy, 23, acknowledges that though a lockdown breakup is definitely more challenging due to the fact she’s not with the people she loves, this challenge and disruption encourages growth.
Adelaide said: “My advice for someone also going through a lockdown breakup is to relish this opportunity to return to yourself.
“In a relationship, we can become so engrossed in another person that we lose certain parts of ourselves and, as we are all spending a little more time alone at the moment, it feels like the perfect opportunity to reflect on what we really want from life and what/who may have been holding us back.
“In many ways, going through a breakup at this time is very fitting – the disruption and breakdown of something that felt so stable in order to make way for something new.”
Breakups are uneasy times where it can feel as though the rug has been pulled from beneath your feet. Pair this with a global pandemic which restricts, confines and fills us with uncertainty, it could add up to a really demanding situation.
Advice from Let’s Mend, the community heartbreak website, said: “If the relationship didn’t last there was a reason, and there’s also a lesson in it.
“While it’s incredibly painful to be going through a breakup during a pandemic, you can find some solace in knowing that you have some closure.”
For those going through the same, focus on healing, taking care of yourself and using this free time and independence to focus on you.
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