Also you dont have to live where you live. If you dont like your neighbour and she makes your life that miserable, you can either try to ignore it, accept it or move. Moving is 100% an option and it could be a change of scene would be just what you need to feel more like yourself again. No one, not just you, would be happy with a full scale neighbourhood war on their doorstep. That would drain anyones motivation and energy, not just yours, so it isnt anything wrong that you are feeling that way, anyone would in your situation. A year is a long time to be miserable. Would you be willing to consider moving as an option?

Good luck with that David. I hope you do manage to get some sleep. I know first hand how getting less than 7hours makes it hard to function.

Hi David,

I wanted to reply to you as I can empathise so much with your position- although it was not the same as mine , I know the feeling of losing a best friend at different times of life and someone I love.

In terms of what you can do, I think for now  for that sounds like nothing. She has wanted to give her marriage another try, and so that’s something you  need to come to terms with right now even if you dont agree with that decision. I dont understand fully why she wants to go to marriage counselling when she loves you and the relationship has  been brilliant and you  both understand each other. Does she love her husband? Clearly you know her and her what drives her more than I can from one post… maybe what would help is to consider that she is fearful of leaving and fearful of making the wrong decision or upsetting her family and kids and so cant yet reconcile her feelings for you and her duty she feels to her marriage and to her kids. From where she is she may feel in an impossible position.. loving you but feeling like she has a moral obligation to stay. In the long term this will only hurt her so I would say dont contact her for now- this shows your respect her and she knows how you feel anyway as you have been clear with her and she most likely knows in her heart anyway.

In terms of how you can feel better. There is temporarily better and long term better. In terms of temporarily better I would say this is about distraction. Your brain and heart is unlikely to cope with the shock of losing her and the reality that you wont be together again so it will just plain hurt over and over. Maybe for the distraction you could do;

1) read a complicated book to take your mind of her and absorb your full attention

2) try yoga and really focus on each move

3) take a shower or bath and cry it out (not distraction but can help)

4) look for anything you can learn that can take up your time e.g vlunterting, a new skill etc

5) sleep, if you can or meditate

In terms of long term better, I cant see any other way than it will take time, be painful and will keep coming up time and time again. That was my reality but it may not he yours.

For this, I would suggest acceptance. Easy to type but very hard to do. In my case acceptance comes as i:

1) anytime I feel emotionally overwhelmed writing down my thoughts in a letter and getting everything out – do not send the letter no matter how tempting. This is for you. If you get everything out you will feel sad still but an smidge lighter inside.

2) meditate. Headspace, a meditation app, do a course on handling sadness which may be of use-I have found it useful so far, and there are free ones online. This isnt about feeling better all the time, just for the length of the mediation which you DO deserve to (in case your brain gets bored and tries to suggest you should get up and do something or dont deserve to feel okay)

3) mentally tell yourself everytime you think of her that you wish her well, accept you miss her and still love her and then  STILL get on with your day. This is really hard and I have found accepting these thoughts takes time and happens multiple times each day and multiple days. Eg it is not a one time thing. This makes it hard as some days it seems impossible to accept and the pain is raw but that also needs accepting just like on the days you feel better. This is hard and sad work. Maybe if you believe in the universe and vibes you could think that your love is being sent out toward her and you are sending it out then releasing both of you to get on with your days. If you keep doing this every day you will have more good days than bad.

4) I know you know this already but it’s not personal. Her decision to stay in her marriage is more based on her conditioning fears, morals etc. Than it is to do with love. Love sometimes is not enough and whilst her decision hurts you both, I think she is trying to do what she thinks is right and putting her happiness last. Only she can realise this and make the change.either way you both got to meet someone that made you feel magical, chemistry, bliss and you will always be a part of each others hearts in that way forever. Always bound by that time even if you both move on.

5) you mentioned about medication and using alcohol to sleep. Firstly brilliant and well done on the medication-you accepted you needed some help and got out and got it! That’s really brave. I know now is really hard and you are in so much pain but just dont get in a habit with alcohol. It’s really easy and numbing but I find I get more sad and more weepy on alcohol even if at first it numbs me so actually any more than one shot glass full and I know I will get say-so just watch out for this. In terms of other modes of comfort could you sleep with a hot water bottle, sleep listening to an audiobooks or guided meditation or the radio-anything to help you relax. I have tried medication -for me it made my brain feel very foggy and slow and the side effects made me not last on them long. All I can say is that medication is a help and it’s not the whole way- the pain is still there and you still need to go through it. I would say take it day by day. Just focus on getting a good morning routine, then to lunch and so so on. Sometimes to make it easier for me I pretend I am an alien who has just landed in my life and has the chance to make my morning routine (and lunch and evening) the nicest it can possibly be. This allows me to ask the question of myself ‘what can I do to make this morning go well?’eg have a shower, exercise, hot coffee etc and all those little things add up. It’s not the same feeling as with your soulmate, not close, but it’s being kind to you which does feel good.

I would be happy to talk to you more as there is more I could say but this is getting rambly! If you dont decide to reply I would like you wish you strength and luck and know that you will get through this and be okay again.

Hi Mary,

I hope you are feeling better today and have a slight break from the thoughts going round in your head about him. I have been there and know how it feels.

From reading your post a few things stood out to me:

1) he is anxious too. It seems odd that he can say he loves you without knowing you. When this happened to me I felt so flattered but also kind of suspicious like hey you dont know me yet and you are talking about love. I dont know the answer here- either he wears his heart on his sleeve so falls in love quickly with people (and can fall out of love also quickly) or he is anxious so wants to push the relationship faster and faster so you dont leave him and he gets what he wants or a third option I haven’t thought of yet. I am sure there are lots of reasons.

2. It is so hard but you cant let your worth depend on him. I think our brains find it so easy to ruminate and ruminate on stuff especially when they get the ‘high’ of him writing back and acknowledging us but thay only temporarily ammends the anxiety until next time or until the phone call ends. I know how hard it is but things like yoga, walking, or distraction can help.

3. I couldn’t believe ‘someone like him’ could love ‘someone like me’. He was this brilliant peacock that walked into my life and I felt like a grey pigeon. But in liking me I felt a million dollars, loved, safe, secure, chemistry etc etc. It was an addictive feeling. But deep down I thought he would leave as I thought I dont deserve a man like him. He was also older (like in your situation) so I almost saw him as this demi God who knew “life” better than me, that had had all this relationship and life experience and I felt like a baby toddling behind him but not actually getting to his level.. which meant that I went out my way to please him.. which when I did felt amazing but when I didnt felt awful. This may not be the case in your situation.  All i can say is when he left I had to do the hard work of learning to like myself, learning to have self worth etc which is still ongoing and painful. He was like a short cut to those feelings but couldn’t give me them all the time (and that’s not the basis of a healthy relationship anyway) and so it’s back to square 1.

In terms of advice I would say leave him be and dont message him too much. He may be the kind of guy that likes the chase, and the thrill of it all e.g my guy that left said I was too nice and too emotional, so if you act harder to get and just like on your A game at work and with your hobbies and not wait for him to call he may be like wow this is a strong woman and someone I want to be with (as deep down he feels weak) and is someone who shows they are capable and able to handle stuff.

I may be way off the mark with this but I wanted to share these thoughts as its what came to mind as I read it.

In terms of the thoughts in your head. I would say the headspace app has helped me as has Michael Singer videos and also has learning about my myres briggs personality type as that has helped me have more compassion for myself. Yoga and walking or getting outside has also helped.

Hi Felix

I created a login so I could reply to you as I read your question earlier in the week and the first time you posted and it kept being in my mind.

Firstly all those that have commented have given you really good advice.

My view on it is that everyone to a lesser or bigger degree has a “height” thing or for them its something else like “their nose”, “their body shape”, “hair colour” or something else. For me it’s my nose and my hair colour. When I was younger and still at times now I would find myself comparing my nose shape to other peoples noses or my hair colour to other peoples hair- all of this got worse when a relationship ended and I was convinced I wasn’t blonde enough or pretty enough or had big enough breasts to be his partner.. those thoughts would overwhelm me and like you with your height, be very frustrating as I cant change the size of my breasts (except through surgery) and I wouldn’t sit dying my hair blonde (I tried it as a teenager) etc. So I was kind of stuck. I didn’t want to think these thoughts as they only harmed me as going out shopping and seeing a happy couple with the girl with blonde hair would make me feel sad for a long time afterward and ruminate about how I will “never be pretty enough” .. writing this out now it all sounds very self obsessed haha! But it was definitely like automatic thoughts that would pop up everytime I saw a happy couple at that time.

I think the difference between now and then is that I have made a commitment to accept reality. This doesn’t mean  that those thoughts don’t come back every now and then if I am feeling low, but every day I try to accept the moment and life exactly as it is. I had help doing this -Eckhert Tolle and Michael Singer both helped me with this and there are lots of free videos on YouTube. Michael Singer in particular talks about “the voice inside your head” and how its basically always thinking about something and that by letting go of that voice or noticing what your thoughts say and then consciously breathing and letting them go -it can help you feel better. Brandy suggestion of meditation and anita’s of taking conscious breaths tie in here as doing a formal meditation practice could really help you have a bit more space from your thoughts. One of his sayings is “if you argue with reality you lose!” And it’s hard to accept but it’s so true. I may want to be skinny, blonde etc but I am not going to be no matter if I was age 1 or age 101 so worrying about it isnt going to solve anything, it’s just a waste of energy  that could be put into something else.

Another suggestion would be to focus on what makes you feel good and most alive. For me most of those times have been when I’ve been with animals. I haven’t cared what I’ve looked like, ive just been in the moment and enjoying myself and there are pictures from those times where I have this huge smile on my face.

Another suggestion could be to work on a project of your own that you enjoy. I most whoy the company of being who are living lives they are passionate and excited about and are actively trying to do something for the world. Passion and commitment toward a goal IS cool and is attractive and people  will be secretly jealous of that as they want to feel what you are feeling e.g the feeling of working toward a higher goal- so working on something like that may give you a good distraction but also make you feel more comfortable in yourself and what you can give to the world. Theres a quote somewhere about learning never leaving -basically lots I’d things change in life all the time, but self improvement and learning stick with you and can give you a temporary escape from judgement eg if you get into the zone whilst learning or doing something.

I think that’s all I can think of for now. In summary I would say meditate (ditto with Brandy), listen to inspiring youtube videos-I would start with Michael Singer and his ‘living from a place of surrender’ videos online and really listen to what he has to say. I have listened to his audio tape countless times and every time there is more to learn.

Take good care of yourself this weekend.