The true test of friendship is when you help your friend up from the pool of tears and emotions after a breakup.
Breakups are hard. Nnot everyone reacts to the help the same way. Not everyone feels better after retail therapy, some actually need therapy. Some need a bit of a rebound to get over their ex. Some grieve and get over it faster than you can blink.
Helping a heartbroken friend means reminding them they have not failed and having them rant about their ex. Here are a few practical tips to help a friend through a breakup.
Acknowledge their sadness
Breakups suck. Remember that just because you deal with breakups with minimal tears and sadness, it does not mean your friend will too. Acknowledge the fact that they are sad and will be for some time in the future.
Say words of encouragement
like “You won’t always be this sad” or “I am here for you” or “It’s okay to cry”. Avoid saying stuff like “There are better people out there for you” or “It happened for the best”. Be mindful of how you phrase things. It might not seem anything to you but the words you say will impact them a lot.
Help them with Social media detoxing
Offer practical help with social media. If they are unable to block their ex on social media, suggest you doing it for them. If they are feeling emotional about deleting memories or photos from Facebook, you do it for them. The social media detoxing will help in the healing process.
Encourage them to talk about it
Hear them talk about their relationship, their ex but do not be negative about the ex or say negative comments about them. Your goal is to help your friend and not to be verbally violent about the ex.
Take them for a trip
If you live in the same city, suggest a hike day away from the city. You could also go for a day trip somewhere you know your friend will like. A day away from the same usual city can work wonders for their heart.
Open your home for them
Breakups can lead to feeling of loneliness. Opening your home for them would help them to escape from the sadness of their own house. Tell them if they ever need a place to sleep or aren’t feeling goon in their home, they can always crash on your couch.
Plan activity with them
Activity could be pub hopping, if they want to. If not, planned activity like cooking together, having an indoor movie night or anything to spend quality time with them will help them feel better soon.
