anita,

That’s very true. I thought that going straight to focusing on my degree was a healthy and positive way to overcome the break-up. I now realise that the opposite is true and that the best way to deal with it would be to allow myself to feel the sadness that occurs when losing someone, rather than avoiding it completely.

The thing is, I don’t like feeling sad. I realise that it isn’t a feeling that anyone enjoys, but sometimes I feel it so intensely that it scares me. That being said, I have definitely felt the benefits ad a good cry before. Maybe I need to allow myself some time out of each day while I’m getting through this to feel what I need to feel and then move on.

You are also right about how I have unrealistic expectations of myself. As I said in my reply to Ben, I am set on being a person who only does good things, and this has probably done me a massive amount of disservice.

Your last paragraph sums it all up nicely.

I need to let myself feel sad when sad things happen rather than run away from these feelings so that they don’t come out in a way that is negative and potentially even more harmful.

Thank you.